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A groan escaped my lips as I tried to... uh... move myself... Yeah, that's the best way to explain it for now at least... I feel weak all over...

What happened to me, anyway? I couldn't really remember... All I know right now was that I groaned, my body's freakin' weak, and...I feel hair all around me. And, oh, I also feel like I'm lying down on my stomach.

But that can't be right. Why am I in this state in the first place, anyway? What can I remember, anyway? Hm... Let's see... Okay, earlier tod—rustling noises? If it's a person, then please help me! If it's a wild animal, then please don't piss on me. Eat me, for all I care! I do not want a dumb creature pissing on me as if it's telling me that I'm dumber than it.

Okay, that last few bits was unfair. I love animals, and nature as a whole, but, uh, I just don't want to be looked down upon. I really hate that. The rustling noise then stopped, followed by a gasp. Well, good point number one, it's not a wild creature.

"Guys! Someone's unconscious over here!" a female voice called out. By the sound of it, I am guessing that she wasn't facing at where I am. Well, at least there's more of them to carry me to the closest hospital.

The rustling noises soon resumed, and, this time, from each direction. I heard a few gasps, and the people were starting to talk, but I didn't pay any more attention because I've been busy chanting in my head for them to just help me already. Sheesh. I guess they're taking out their smartphones first to video-record their 'rescue' so they could upload this on YouTube later, or so they'll have something to show to the Yahoo! News crew... Sigh... People these days... Pokes..? Okay, so they're poking me on my head, back, tail—

...uh...

That last one didn't sound very… human, but my busy, ranting brain told me it was a… tail. My… tail. That single realization was more than enough for me. I snapped open my eyes, and flew up from the ground with a panicked jolt. It was just a small jump, but I like to exaggerate sometimes.

The first thing I saw was the large tree in front of me. I didn't mind it as I was distracted by a more pressing subject. I turn my head to face my hand—yeah no. That's a paw. That's my brown, furry paw. Oh, and, those are my furry, brown sides. And look! Resting just beside my furry, brown 'rear paw' was my brown tail, with splashes of white on the tip.

All common sense was now departing whatever morphed brain I now had. My mind just could not grasp what was happening. I wanted to laugh, even for a small bit. Just to convince myself that this was all a weird dream. Unfortunately—

"A-are you alright?"

My supposed-to-be-rescuers interrupted my train of thought. I slowly looked up at them. They were four beings of fiction. Fiction that everyone in the fandom would literally trade their heads off just to see even a microscopic hair of their existing hair fibers. I grinned at them, and it must have been a creepy-looking grin, judging from their horrified expressions before I returned to darkness again. This time, my brain made sure to stay brain-dead with my body-dead body...

With a low groan, I opened one eye slowly. Thankfully, it's not bright, and I could see the green ground, and a few shadows, and a few paws. And oh, a brown paw's right in front of my vision. It's probably ‘mine’... Sigh...

I tried moving it slightly, and yes, it followed my brain's command: it moved.

“Hey, he's awake...” no duh. I wanted to roll my eyes, but maybe later when I'm fully awake.

I should be freaking out, but I already did that, if my brain's still working properly. And also, I've played the Mystery Dungeon games, so I'm not really that surprised though. The games kinda ruined the fun of discovering myself as a Pokémon. The only thing it didn't ruin was the questions ‘why the heck am I turned into a Pokémon’ and ‘how the heck am I suppose to get back home’...

I felt a tudge on the side of my neck. It was followed by a concerned voice. “Are you alright?”

I am... I'm just feeling weak an' all. “Yeah...” I quietly replied. Whoever it was that asked, he pulled away and gave me space to stand on my...four paws. “Quick question,” I asked, my head hung and my eyes on the ground right below me, “what Pokémon am I?”

“Uh...you're an...Eevee?”

Yeah, I figured as much. I just wanted someone else to confirm it. Now to greet my new ‘friends’ to help me on my ‘epic quest’ to return home, wherever and however that is...

I looked ahead and saw four Pokémon. They're all different from each other though. Let's see... There's a Bulbasaur, a Vulpix, a Pikachu, and a Rattata.

“Hi?” I said awkwardly. Even though the games spoiled me of these kinds of encounters, what I'm having right now's real, I think, and I have no idea how to start interacting with them...

“Hi?” they all replied back, their tones clearly carried the ‘doubtful’ tone. I don't blame them.

I'm still feeling quite weak though. I hope they don't mind if I sit while we talk. “So, uh...whe—iyawtch!” I gritted my teeth and jolted back up into four as I felt a sharp pain on my bum when I sat. I must have startled my small audience, but I didn't pay them any attention as I turned my head over my shoulder, and saw the problem: I sat on my low-hanging tail...

A chorus of low voices erupted in front of me. The only things I caught were ‘he sat on his tail’, ‘he's really weird’ and ‘I think he really did hit his head’...

Horay for me to have shown a stupid first impression... Wait, that was actually my second impression... Uh...third time's the charm?

“Um... Are y—”

“I'm fine, I'm fine,” I replied hastily, followed by a sigh as I lightly kicked my tail with my rear paw before I sat down. “I'm just...tired...I guess?” I turned to them and flashed them a smile.

That smile defused whatever they thought of me. Hopefully, that'll last for as long as I could make sense of things.

“So,” the Pikachu brought his small paw on his chin as he looked at me. Damn, why did I turn into a four-legged Pokémon anyway? I'm calling it right now: I'm gonna miss having arms in the upcoming days... Sigh... I can see it now... “...what happened? You fell unconscious for like...five minutes after we found you...”

Five minutes? It felt shorter than that. I shook my head. “I don't really know. All I know is that I'm...or rather, I was a hu—”

...

...

...

...should I tell them? Should I tell them that I'm a human? Or rather, I used to be a human? How would they react? In the games, everyone reacted nicely. How sure I am that they won't...attack me? It's a fifty-fifty percent chance. Well, thirty-three percent chance, if I count the fact that they'll not know what the heck ‘humans’ are... The remaining one percent would be...a mixed reaction?

My little train of thought was broken when the Rattata walked, or rather, crawled? Trotted? Ack, I'll stick with walk for now, and forever. The Rattata walked up to me, and walked around me.

“Um...what are you doing?”

“Catching your scent,” she replied. Yeah, the Rattata's a she. After she walked around me, she sat in front of me and looked at my face. “You didn't finish what you were gonna say, so I assumed you were afraid to say that you were hurt...”

...I guess ‘hu—’ could also mean that. Though that doesn't make sense, gramma-wise, I mean.

The other three stood beside their rat friend and looked at me.

“Eevees are a bit proud of themselves that they won't admit that they're hurt,” the Bulbasaur said. He's a he, by the way. “You sounded like none of them...well, almost.”

“Almost?” I asked with a blink. Well, we should be proud of ourselves, right? That is like, loving one's self. But not in a ‘forever alone’ kinda way. But uh...before I became an Eevee, I was a ‘forever alone’ kinda guy...with the ‘bad-luck bryan’ kind of luck with the ladies back home...

...I accidentally let out a deppressed sigh... I couldn't help it. Oh well...

“Sounds like you have a problem,” another she spoke up. It was the Vulpix this time. She slightly tilted her head to the side. “Care to share?”

Wow. I'm a stranger, and these Pokémon are actually friendly towards me. Well, I could scrap that ‘forever alone’ part on my ‘life's resumé’.

“Maybe later,” I smiled at them as I slowly scratched my neck. “I'm kinda thirsty though...”

“Well, there's a pond not far from here where Celebi lives,” Pikachu said, turning and pointing at a direction.

Celebi? “We're in Ilex Forest then?”

The others nodded as Pikachu turned back to me and nodded, and added, “yep.”

Cool. Maybe this little adventure won't turn into a long adventure after all. As fun as this is, I'd rather stick with playing the Mystery Dungeon games.

I've been wanting to give myself the pleasure of adventure for a long while now. I've been doing nothing but work, work and work, and barely no fun. Adventure is a very thrilling and exciting thing that I could possibly reward myself with. I guess if Celebi can actually help me go back home, then I think I'll stay here for a few days. It'll be like a vacation of some sort, but, I didn't file a vacation leave at work... Sigh...

Anyway, it took us only a few number of minutes to reach their small watering hole. During our little walk, I could actually hear quiet murmurs of flying-types on the trees' branches, either singing or talking to each other. Other than that, the Pokémon who are leading me to the pond were chatting with themselves.

I, on the other hand, walked behind their small cheery group. It's not like I hate to talk to them or anything. They seem friendly enough but, I don't actually know them yet, and talking to them like we're automatically best friends forever is kinda awkward...

The Vulpix however, glances back at me and gives me a small smile. Probably to asure me that she and her other friends hadn't forgotten about me walking behind them. I smiled back, since that's all I could do.

And so, here we are. The pond's actually...quite big. Bigger than I expected. The pond's on the center of this big clearing, and around the pond were lots of different Pokémon. Some were in small groups, talking to each other. While others were sitting on their lonesome, enjoying the sunlight on their furs.

...and also...I just noticed after looking around again... The Pokémon here, all of them, are in their basic forms. Though, I guess that's kinda understandable, in the games at least? Ilex Forest is one of the early areas the players can visit, so it'll probably be too difficult for gamers to progress if the wild Pokémon were all Ursarings, Arcanines, Ariados, Noctowl, etc...

“Well, we're here,” the female Rattata announced as she and her friends turned to me with smiling faces.

I nodded with a lame smile. “Yeah, I noticed...”

“Ooohhh... A sarcastic one,” the Bulbasaur said, poking the Pikachu on the shoulder with a vine. “Seems you have some competition.”

“Shut up,” Pikachu glared lightly at the chuckling Bulbasaur. He then looked back at me. “Water's for everyone, so don't hesitate to satisfy your thirst.”

I nodded and excused myself. As I neared the edge of the pond, I could hear their footsteps following me from behind. I stopped by the edge and looked at the fresh, cool, and clean water. Well, this is Celebi's pond after all, so it should be, and what's more, Suicune cleansed this, didn't...it?

I lightly shook my head as...how am I gonna drink anyway? I almost forgot to kick my tail away before I sat down. I raised a paw to my face and frowned at it. Great, so I'm gonna drink like a small pup now?

I sighed. I guess I don't have much of a choice, do I? Well, at least my tongue would do that ‘J’ shape thing like how dogs drink, or were those cats? Ugh, whatever... I leaned down and decided to get it over with.

My first taste of the water made me shiver of how cold it was. But I continued anyway. It was cool, and refreshing, and I could actually drink lots of it, if it weren't for this awkward feeling I was dealing of how I was drinking...

The four Pokémon behind me were chatting while I was drinking though, and I didn't really bother listening to what they were saying. However, after a few more...licks? ...drinks? ...they became loud enough for me to actually care of listening to them.

“For the hundredth time, no!” shouted an angry female voice.

I stopped drinking and brought myself on all four before turning to see what was going on. It sounded like the Vulpix's voice, and yeah, it indeed was her. She was glaring furiously at a Growlithe. The two of them were almost the same height though, the latter being slightly taller.

The Growlithe had a sly grin on his face. “Oh, com'on, Vixie,” I guess everyone here doesn't address to each other as their specie's name. That's nice to know. “You've been like this for forever now!”

“Lithe,” the Pikachu crossed his arms, “I'm actually getting tired of you and your insistence of getting our friend be included in your circle of mates.”

Circle of...mates? Uh, I guess that's...how things work here?

Lithe, the Growlithe, glared at the Pikachu. “I'm not talking to you, Shock. Stay out of this.”

The Rattata poked the Bulbasaur's shoulder with an amused face. “Wouldn't it be hilarious if Shock thought that Lithe was inviti—mmf!” and a vine wrapped around her mouth, shutting her up.

“Look, Vixie,” Lithe spoke, but that was all he managed to say when the Vulpix suddenly spoke up.

“I said no, and I mean it! Now scram!”

“Could you let me finish?” Lithe frowned a bit. “You've been playing hard-to-get ever since I first asked you out. Previously, I'd walk away when you say ‘no’, but I'm actually feeling lucky this time,” he grinned, “so I'm not gonna stop asking until you say ‘yes’.”

“And what made you feel lucky today?” the Bulbasaur suddenly asked, cutting the Pikachu's and the Vulpix's attempts of talking.

They continued to argue while I scanned our surroundings, and yeah, all eyes were on them at the moment.

“Fine!” the Vulpix suddenly said. I looked back and saw the stunned look of her other friends, and the victorious smile of the Growlithe. “But on one condition!”

“Oh? Anything, my dear number thirteen,” the Growlithe grinned.

The Vulpix actually grinned back. “Beat me in a battle.”

Her friends gasped in unison. The Rattata started struggling to get the vines off of her mouth.

“Vixie, that's crazy!” the Pikachu shouted.

“Totally crazy!” the Rattata chimed in.

I saw the Bulbasaur look at me. I arched an eyebrow (if I have any) at him, and he just shrugged at me before walking towards me. “She's gonna lose,” the Bulbasaur simply said as he sat beside me and watched the upcoming battle.

I blinked at him. “Y-you're her friend, right? I mean,” why do I even care? “She doesn't want to be with that guy, and you're not gonna do anything to help her?”

He just smiled without looking at me. “Nope, but I know someone will.”

Eh? I looked back and saw both the Pikachu and Rattata sighed in defeat and stepped back to give room for the two fire types. Looking at her two friends, I'm pretty sure the Pikachu's the likely candidate to step up and help her...when things go bad.

Huh, come to think of it, I might actually like this. I mean, aside from the animé, I actually haven't seen a live Pokémon battle before!

I was about to roll my eyes, but Vixie beat me to it. She breathed out small fumes of fire from her mouth as she...disappeared?

I blinked, and saw Lithe smiled and pressed himself against the ground, in time to dodge Vixie's tackling attack.

Vixie skidded to a stop behind him, and cursed under her breath as she quickly spun and breathed out fumes of fire at the confident Growlithe.

Lithe jumped to the side with ease, and dashed towards the startled Vixie. He tackled her, although not a very powerful one. Vixie was thrown back, but not too far and didn't appear to be hurt badly. She looked more annoyed than ever, which completely contrasted Lithe's huge grin.

Vixie quickly spun in place, slapping her six tails on the surprised Growlithe's face. She followed it with a vicious tackle, pushing him a few meters back, but landed on his four paws with a pained smile.

“Not bad,” he said.

“Shut up,” she vanished.

I heard a sigh, and looked at the Bulbasaur who sat beside me.

“What's wrong?” I asked.

The Bulbasaur just shook his head slowly. “This is taking a while...”

“Uh, but it just started...”

After a few seconds of nothing, I returned my attention back at the battle.

The fire types gave us a very fiery seven or so minute battle. Even though Vixie gave it her all, it was clear that Lithe was winning. Vixie panted as she could barely stay on her feet, while the Growlithe just stood a few feet in front of her, still wearing that huge smile that annoyed the Vulpix too much.

“Ready to lose, love?” Lithe chuckled.

Vixie's eye twitched in annoyance. “No! I still hav—” she stepped forward, but fell to her side instead. “Ngg...!”

Lithe chuckled some more. “I'll take that as a ‘yes’ then.” His already huge grin went even bigger as he walked towards his glaring and panting prize. “So that makes me the vict—”

A bolt of electricity struck the ground in between the two fire types, causing Lithe to jump back in surprise.

“About time,” sighed the Bulbasaur beside me. “Took him a while.”

I faced him with an arched eyebrow (still not sure if I have any eyebrows at all). “So, this happens often?” I asked while I heard Lithe complained what was that all about.

Bulbasaur nodded.

“So, the Pikachu is always the one saving Vixie from Lithe?”

He nodded again. “But not this time.”

“Eh? What do you mean?”

“You'll see...”

I arched yet another eyebrow at him. I shook my head lightly, and returned to the ongoing argument going on. The Pikachu's cheeks were sparking a bit, and he was glaring at the fuming Growlithe.

“Who in blazes are you to try and stop me from claiming my prize, huh!? What!? Are you her mate or something!?”

Pikachu's glare intensified. “She's my friend and as her friend, I will protect her from the likes of you!”

I actually heard everyone gasp when Pikachu's face was suddenly in the middle of a hot train of fire. When it ended, Lithe growled and tackled him, only to hit nothing but air.

The Pikachu reappeared beside him, and placed a hand on the Growlithe's shoulder. “Bad move,” he said with a blackened face, and the two were suddenly surrounded by a bright electric shock.

I actually had to squint my eyes to see what was going on, and noticed the Rattata was helping the Vulpix stand back up and walk away from the scene.

I think Lithe saw her walking away, since he suddenly roared and managed to break the Pikachu's contact, and tackled him away from him.

“Wow,” I whispered, “what just happened?” I looked back at Bulbasaur, who appeared to be looking at the battle with a bored expression. “Hey, can't you help and stop this?” I enjoyed the first battle, but now I'm starting to get worried.

He just shook his head lightly. “No.”

“W-why the heck not!?”

“You'll see.”

I frowned. “Yeah, I hate you too, by the way.”

...and then he smiled without looking at me. “No problem.”

...I frowned even more, but tore my attention from him to the battle as a light explosion erupted. Judging from a few flying sparks of fire and electricity, I assumed that an ember and a thundershock attack erupted.

I saw both the Rattata and the Vulpix slowly heading our way. Few meters behind them, Lithe saw them, and was about to chase after them when the Pikachu reminded him that he was still there by punching him in the face after ‘quick attacking’ in front of him.

“A little help here?” the Rattata panted, trying her best to aid Vulpix on walking.

I blinked, and blinked again. “Uh, yeah...” I ran towards them, despite having no idea how to assist them. I walked beside the Vulpix, and she leaned on me for better support as we continued walking towards the relaxed Bulbasaur. Oh, so this is how we assist four-legged Pokémon? Kinda weird though, but if it works, then okay?

We were a few feet away from the Bulbasaur when a flying Pikachu landed beside him.

“Uh oh...” the Rattata and I whispered in unison.

“Take her,” I said, “I'll try and see if I can talk to him.”

I heard an objection, but I wasn't sure who it was from, but I didn't mind it as I pushed the Vulpix to the Rattata before turning around...and my nose touched the nose of a pretty angry Growlithe.

“Uh...hi?” I gulped, and took a step back.

He backed off, to my relief, but he suddenly tackled me!

“Ack!” I could not believe how painful that felt! Ow...! I think I was thrown a few meters back, almost beside the Bulbasaur. The Vulpix and the Rattata veered away from us, the Bulbasaur just sat there, watching us, and the Pikachu was trying to get back on his feet. And oh, the Growlithe's furiously glaring at me.

“I won't let anyone get in my way! Not even you!”

Heck? Who said anything about me ‘standing in his way’, anyway!? I stood back on all four and tried to glare at him, while ignoring the soaring pain on my chest. “Hey! You need to cool off! Who said anything about m—”

I should be afraid. I really should be, but then again, why should I be? I was once human, and I've learned a lot of things back then. One of them was how to fend off a crazy dog. If it was only one dog, then it's not a good idea to run. Instead, stand your ground and be quick. If the dog jumps, kick it. If it doesn't, hop to the side and kick it. If it stops and just barks at you, slowly walk away.

...that last part doesn't work often, but whatever.

Anyway, I think Lithe's using Flare Blitz.

I pretty much grew up with the first three generation Pokémon games before life decided to make me busy to stay updated with the latest games. Even so, I still managed to update myself with what was going on in the world of Pokémon. Anyway...

Flare Blitz is a physical type of move, so I'm pretty sure Lithe's likely to tackle me and burn me to a crisp.

Anyway, I simply dug a paw and kicked the ground towards his angry. He yelped as he closed his eyes, but he gritted his teeth and continued running towards me, so I leaned my body to the side, and let the burning Growlithe trip on my feet, and he fell on the ground...hard...and he skidded until he fell to the pond.

...the few seconds, the quiet air was filled with a sizzling-kind of noise...

A few more seconds later, Lithe resurfaced and cried that the water was too cold and needed help.

I heard a sigh, and before I could move my head, I saw two green vines extended towards him and wrapped around him. The Bulbasaur grunted quietly as he began to lift the coughing Growlithe out of the water, and gently dropped him on the edge of the pond.

I felt something tapping my back. It was a vine, and the Bulbasaur smiled at me. “Good job.” He then frowned as he faced the coughing and shivering Growlithe. “Lithe...”

“Alright, alright,” Lithe whined, and coughed, “I'm going, I'm going... Ugh...” He stood up slowly, and weakly shook the water off of him. A few drops of water rained on me, but I didn't mind. He then glared at them, and then gave a longer and fiercer glare at me. “I'm getting you for this...”

I furrowed my bro. Great. Fine. As soon as I meet Celebi, I'm going home instantly. I wanted to say something, but Lithe yelped, startling me a bit, and he suddenly levitated up, and above the pond.

“How many times has he said those exact lines, Fay?” Vixie asked while glaring at the flailing Growlithe above the pond.

The Rattata sat up and brought a paw on her chin as she looked skyward. “Hm... Twenty-two times...”

The Pikachu sighed. “Let him go.”

With a nod, the Bulbasaur lets go, and Lithe fell to the water again.

The Pikachu slapped a paw to his blackened face. “I meant ‘bring him back to the ground’, Saur...”

Saur, on the other hand, grinned as he pulled the Growlithe out of the pond again. “Uh...oops?”

“And you call me the sarcastic one,” the Pikachu shook his head.

As soon as Lithe was back on dry land again, he actually cried and ran to a direction.

It was quiet once again, and I looked around, and noticed that every eye were on us. Majority are on...me... I actually felt my two ears fall flat behind my head as I lowered myself closer to the ground, hoping to hide myself.

Suddenly, there was a clapping noise. I slightly followed with my head where it came from.

The Pikachu clapped his hands loud for every attention to fall on him. “Okay, show's over. Go back to your own businesses!”

And then the forest was back to normal.

Another sigh escaped the Pikachu's lips as he walked towards the edge of the pond and started cleaning his face.

While Fay and Vixie talked to each other, Saur sat beside me and smiled.

“Thanks.”

I blinked. “...for what?”

He faced the pond, still wearing the smile on his face. “I did told you that you're gonna help us. So thanks.”

I blinked. I blinked again, and again. I shook my head. “You're not making sense. Since when did you told me that I'm gonna help...” I...trailed off... And I blinked again. “Wa-wait... You knew that was gonna happen?”

He shrugged. “No. I'm not a psychic-type, y'know.”

I frowned, and shook my head. “You're a weird Bulbasaur.”

“And you're a hungry Eevee.”

I arched an eyebrow. “Eh? No I'm...” but apparently, my stomach decided to side with the one I'm arguing with. Great, thanks belly! “O-okay, I guess I am...” But I furrowed my brow and poked him on his shoulder. “But I'll be watching you. You're probably Mew in disguise or something.”

Saur blinked, and then faced me with a confused frownd. “Mew? What's a Mew?”

I blinked, and tilted my head to the side. I shook my head. “Never mind. So...”

Food. I need food, I guess. But wait...

“This is Celebi's pond, right?”

“Yes,” the Pikachu answered as he stood beside Saur. “I thought we told you that already.”

I ignored the last sentense he spoke. “So... Is...” He? She? ...it? “...Celebi gonna show up soon?”

“What made you think Celebi's gonna show up?” Fay, the Rattata, asked, as she and Vixie sat with their friends in front of me. “Do you know her or something?”

Celebi's a ‘she’ then. “Well, not really, but...uh...”

“But...?” Vixie asked.

I...looked away. Do I need to have a good reason to meet with Celebi or something? Is that a requirement? “I...just needed to ask her something...in private.”

“If you're gonna ask her to be your mate, then you'd better flirt with the moon instead,” Fay said with a smile, and then chuckled.

I actually snapped my head to face her. “That's NOT what I wanted to ask her!”

“Fay, shut up,” thank you Pikachu. Hey, that actually rhymed! “Anyway, Celebi hasn't shown up for almost two months now. So I doubt you could talk to her, even if you wanted to. The best way for you to do right now, if you really need to talk to her, is for you to wait for her to come back.”

I frowned. “Almost two months...? Is...is she in some sort of time travel adventure or something?”

The Vulpix's words made me blink. And blink again, and again. “Pokémon actually eat meat here?” I whispered to myself. Okay, if that's true, then I need to get outta here. No way am I planning on getting eaten by some random carnivoure wild Pokémon.

“You're scaring him, Vixie,” Soar's voice broke the silence.

“Am I?” the Vulpix asked.

In truth, yes, for a bit. Well, not really just a bit... I'm an Eevee... How am I suppose to defend myself if some random Pokémon decided I'll be its snack. A giant Pidgeot could easily pick me up and tore my head off... I shivered.

...well, I did won against Lithe. So I guess that heightens my survival experience? I closed my eyelids to give myself an eye roll.

“So I am...” I snapped back as Vixie sat beside me and tilted her head. “I'm not trying to scare you, by the way.”

“I'm not scared...” I whispered as I turned my head away from her, and my gaze instantly fell on the Rattata, who just happened to open her mouth and...grabbed a chewed berry from her mouth to her paws...

“See? I ate them for you!” she pulled the slimey thing towards me, and I didn't care if I was pushing the Vulpix, just as long as I got a safe distance from the weird Rattata. She smiled widely and innocently. “Now you can just swallow th—”

A vine wrapped around her mouth and belly, and she was pulled away from me, dropping her ‘offering’ to where she was seated a second ago. My eye twitched in disgust as I stood up and walked away from them.

“Where are you going?” asked...Pikachu, I think...

“Away from Eewyville...” I sigh as I brushed through some bushes, and bushes, and more bushes.

I soon found myself back in the large clearing where the pond was. There were still a pretty huge number of Pokémon in different circles and groups, minding their own conversations. A few sat by their lonesome, or by pairs, at the edge of the pond. I walked towards the edge of the pond, and sat there (after kicking my tail away) while silently staring at the Eevee who was staring at me on the rippling surface of the water.

Another sigh escaped my lips. So, what now? Should I just wait here for Celebi? What if she'll never ever show up again?

Wait...if this is Ilex Forest, then does that mean that there are humans here?

...and stupidly enough, and as if on cue, a small number of flying Pokémon flew away from the rustling noises from a direction. I turned my head to where the noise was coming from, and there, two humans came out from the line of trees and bushes. A boy and a girl.

I tilted my head at how...young they looked. Oh wait... Trainers can start their journey at ten years old... I almost forgot.

“Wow,” the girl said, with a pair of twinkling eyes, “so this is Celebi's pond?”

“Yep,” the boy replied as he looked around, and two Pokémon walked from behind them, and stopped in front of them, who also stared at the clearing. A Chikorita and a Totodile.

Damn, I feel kinda envious that those two youngsters received an actual starter Pokémon and are already in Ilex Forest! They must be pretty strong. I mean, they should probably have the first two badges if they're here, right?

The boy pulled out a Pokéball from his pocket, and ‘enlarged’ it by clicking the button on the middle, and looked around once again. “Now to catch a flying type to defeat Bugsy.”

Oh... Scratch that then. They only have one badge.

“Oh, big brother!” the girl squealed, pulling the annoyed boy's shirt as the girl pointed a finger at...me... “Is...is that an Eevee?”

The boy actually looked quite surprised as I gulped. One sad fact for being an Eevee in the world of Pokémon with humans is...

“Oh wow, you're right! Eevees are quite rare!”

I think I heard them shouting something as the fast rush of green flew in my eyes, as I kick my legs to get away from them.

I think that was Pikachu who shouted as I ran through their little group. There was a rather tall bush up ahead, so I grit my teeth and jumped over it. Strangely though, I found myself floating over the said bush. It took me a few seconds for my tired body to register that a vine wrapped itself around me, holding me in place.

“Run for it!” Vixie shouted and everyone bolted away in different directions.

“H-hey, wait!” the girl shouted as the loosening vines lifted me up a bit and lets me go as Saur ran away, leaving me to stumble back down on the grassy ground.

I dared a glance, and saw the girl struggling to go through the bushes, and her brother working his way towards her.

With a yelp, I hurried to my feet and ran— “Ah!” my world turned up-side-down when I stepped on something slimey and squeashy and eeky.

I wanted to cringe, but instead I hurried to my feet and—

“Chiko, vine whip, now!”

—vines wrapped my hind legs and made me stumble back to the ground.

...the earth is probably flirting with me, with me constantly falling onto it and me fighting to get back on my feet. Ugh...

“Leave me alone! I do NOT want to be captured!” I shouted as I tried to crawl forward with my front paws, which was useless as the vines pulled me back towards the humans.

“You have no say to that,” said a female voice as I was lifted up in the air again. The vine turned my up-side-down gaze at the Chikorita, who was smiling at me apologetically. “I'm only following orders. Sorry...”

I glare at her.

“Aww... He's so cute!” the girl squealed as she pinched both my cheeks painfully. I growled, but she didn't seem to care and kept on pinching my cheeks.

“Yes yes,” the boy said, and to my horror, I saw him walking beside his sister with a Pokéball on his hand.

****! I need to get outta here! I scratched the girl's hand with a paw, but that seemed to only anger the boy further, and wanting to capture me even further. I gulped as I close my eyes.

I felt a cold metallic surface hit my head a bit forcefully, and I suddenly felt very warm all over.

I canNOT understand what just happened to me. After that warmth, I felt really really really weird all over. I couldn't feel my body, and my mind told me that I should really feel very uncomfortable, but strangely, I felt comfortable. Wait, no! Pokémon can break free from a Pokéball, right? They didn't weaken me! They just captured me! Tried, at least!

I blink and saw the surprised looks of two humans and two Pokémon in front of me. Glancing slightly higher, I saw Chikorita's vines held aloft above me, and the broken Pokémon on the boy's hand.

I smiled awkwardly as I took a step ba—eew! Not that eeky thing again!

“Wrap him again!”

I held on a cringe as I kicked the eeky and chewed Oran Berry towards the Chikorita's startled face and made a run for it.

Damn those four for leaving me alone! W-wait. I was running away from them without telling them about the humans... I sighed as I suddenly felt like I was the one trying to abandon them in the humans' mercy...

I heard a loud popping noise and some weird noise that you always hear from a Pokéball sending out a Pokémon.

I skidded to a stop when a white blob of energy landed a few feet in front of me. The white blob formed into a shape, and then turned into a Sentret.

“Hi! I'll be battl—”

I kicked some sand into his eyes and ran pass him. “Yeah, not happening!”

Voices of plenty of Pokémon blurred through my ears as I kept on kicking my four paws to run as fast and as far away as I can. I ran through bushes, clearings, small streams, trees, and Pokémon. I don't understand what is going on anymore, but one thing's for certain; I do NOT want to be captured!

I am a human, for goodness' sake! I cannot let myself be caught and follow orders of some random kid do to his battles!

“S-slow down!”

“Watch it!”

“What the?”

I huffed and puffed. I could feel a lot of sweat around my fur. I feel so hot and tired, but no, I kept on running. I grit my teeth as the sides of my vision started to dim and blur.

Where am I going anyway? Away from those two humans? But I'm running farther and farther away from Celebi's lake! I need to meet up with her if I wanted to go back home, but how can I go back if those two are still hot on my trail!

Suddenly, fumes of fire flew pass me, much faster than my speed, and fire erupted on the ground a few feet in front of me. I skidded to a stop, but my weak legs gave in and I stumbled and rolled through the small wall of fire.

I gasped for breath through my open mouth. Damn, how my body aches so much, and it's hot...it's so damn hot... I actually feel some of my saliva running down from my tongue and open mouth, but I didn't care. I wanted to gulp as many of this cool air I was breathing as many as I wanted.

“Darn it, Eevee... I-I'm sorry!” a blurry red and orange thing stood before me. I recognized the voice though, so I allowed myself to relax for only a bit.

My heart's pounding so fast and hard, it actually hurts... I coughed a bit and closed my eyes as I wondered what the heck was going on with me. I'm tired yes, hot, sweaty...fur... No, that's not sweat I was feeling. I dunno what that is, but it feels like sweat. I forgot that furred creatures like me don't normally sweat. Furried creatures like who I am now sweat through our tongue and nose... Cooling down will definitely take me a while...

It's quiet... Too quiet... Well, not really. I could still faintly hear a few flying types chatting amongst themselves, and Vixie's feet touching down on the ground as she walks around, probably keeping an eye out.

D-darn, I don't want to just lie here for too long... But my body is refusing to stand. I'm just so darn tired from all that running. Damn...I must be so terrified of losing hopes of getting back home... Why shouldn't I be? I am not supposed to be a Pokémon, but that attempt of capturing me...inside that Pokéball...this is reality...my NEW reality...and I can't accept this! I can't... I want to go home...

“There, there...” a felt a paw gently running from my head down to my back. “It's all right, Eevee...”

I just realized, I was crying... W-wow, I never cried for a long while now, that the cold tinkling feeling of tears from my eyes to my furry cheeks almost felt so...foreign... Crying almost felt so foreign... I choked on a sob and cried quietly.

I have lost track of how long I was lying there on the ground, crying my hearts out at how scary this world really was, but Vixie was patient with me, still ‘petting’ me with her paw from my head to my back.

“Eh...” was the only thing she said as I slowly rose up into a sitting position.

I sniffed and wiped my nose with a paw. I am not sure if the very wet moisture from my nose was sweat or mucus, but whatever... “Th-thanks...”

“You should have told us that there were humans...”

I guess that's her way of saying ‘you're welcome’. “S-sorry about that...”

I just then suddenly noticed how windy the place is. That's probably one reason why I cooled off quicker than I thought. I looked around, and noticed that, beyond the small bushes, there was a bright clearing to my left. The cool windy air was coming from there.

“Sure is windy over there...” I whispered.

“It's a cliff over there though, and beyond's a human city...”

A human...city? Curiousity got the better of me, and so I stood on all four, and I didn't even bother checking if I was already fit for standing and walking. I slowly walked towards the so-called cliff, and brushed through the bushes, and yeah, it was indeed a cliff. I stopped a feet or so from the edge, and down below and beyond was a magnificent golden city that completely stood out from the rolling green hills and waving blue ocean.

“G-Goldenrod City?” I whispered as I saw a grayish train speeding up, leaving the city, and making almost no noise in traveling the metallic rails.

I should be dying of fangasm that one of the greatest fictional cities is right in front of me. I should have been, if I weren't ‘magically’ turned into an Eevee.

Whoever did this to me must not have heard of the Mystery Dungeon games. I mean, heck, I should probably be doing some rescue missions right about now!

...wait, what? What the heck am I even thinking? Why the heck am I troubling myself with those anyway? I should be thinking of how to get back home!

Okay, okay... Damn, that city's bright when the sunlight hits it. Or maybe Eevee eyes are just sensitive...

I drop my gaze from the golden city to the grassy hills. Green is always a good color to stare at because it's cool to the eyes, or so I've heard.

Anyway, home... How am I going to get home?

Well, clearly, I'm in the Pokémon world, so...I'm in a completely different dimension...which is also called ‘space’... And space is governed by Dial...er...Palkia, rather. Yes yes, that pink dragon thingy, Palkia.

So, in conclusion, I need to look for Palkia and talk to it.

Great!

Now how do I freaking find a stupid space-warping dinosaur?!

I close my eyes, hung my head and let out a very very depressed sigh...

...and by the way...even if I do find Palkia, how the heck am I going to turn back into a human...?

I shook my head lightly and sighed once again...

“Care to share?”

Oh yeah, Vixie's with me at the moment... I almost forgot...

...and she reminded me of my earlier troubles... Should I tell her that I used to be a human? Another sigh escaped my lips...

Fay looked at her, and then she turned to me with a puzzled look. “Have you been there before?” Fay asked.

I blinked. Wow, I never expected that question before. “Er...no, but uh...”

She smiled wide. “Then you don't know if it's made of cheese!”

I tightly closed my eyes and slapped a paw over my face. I shook my head a bit with a groan. “Where's that Bulbasaur when I need him?”

“Why?” Vixie asked, blinking at me.

“Oh, those two will get here,” Fay said, still staring dreamily at the city. “I was farting all the way here—” I jumped and back away from her, “—while following your scent. They don't have a strong nose like I do, but their noses are good enough to follow the trail I left for them.”

And as if on cue, rustling noises erupted from the bushes. I turned and saw a very green-looking Pikachu and an annoyed-looking Bulbasaur. Both newcomers were covering their noses with a leaf.

“At least we found them,” Saur grunted as he slapped the Rattata's head with a vine.

“Yeah, finally...” Shock sat down...and fell on his belly with an exhausted sigh. “I'm never forcing myself to follow an awful smell...ever...” he sounded like he's on the verge of tears... Poor guy...

While Vixie was rubbing Shock's back and Saur choking the Rattata to death, a sigh escaped my lips, and then I turned back to the city.

Right now, these four are the closest to friends that I have at the moment. And right now, I need their help if I want to go back home. But...

I stared back at them. The four seem to be so close to each other... What if I'm just going to break whatever they have?

I don't want that...

I turn back towards the city again.

Goldenrod City... I blink... W-wait... Wait wait wait...

A smile slowly grew on my lips. Hope was blazing brightly inside me.

There IS a way for me to return to being human!

Bill!

All I gotta do for now is to concentrate on turning back to human, and then I'll look for Palkia. Searching for that pink dragon will be much much easier being human. Heh, who knows... I might even go into an adventure and collect badges, visit regions, and finally kick some age on Ash Ketchum!

I turned back to the four Pokémon, and they were currently busy chatting with each other. Yeah, as much fun as it would be to have them around, I don't think they'd be okay with a human-turned-Pokémon. Judging from their reactions after those two trainers appeared, asking them to help me search for Bill in Goldenrod would be close to impossible.

And...I guess I'll just have to leave quietly. No use explaining what my plans are to them. Better to leave them happy with the four of them together.

I looked around, and saw a very narrow inclined pathway behind me. It was narrow...for humans at least, but it was big enough for an Eevee such as myself. Upon closer inspection, the rocky pathway was on the face of the cliff, heading all the way down to the base.

I smile. Perfect. I allowed myself one last glance at the four Pokémon. I mouthed a ‘thank you’ and ‘goodbye’ before I walked down on the pathway, and onward to Goldenrod City.

I was tired by the time I reached the foot of the cliff. It didn't help that I started walking down that rocky path from a few minutes of rest after those two humans chased after me.

Even though the air here was not as strong and constant that it was above, at least it was cool here. The trees weren't as thick as the previous ones though, and there are more gaps above the sea of leaves for me to actually see the golden sky.

Golden sky? Must be close to sunset now. Shoot. I need a place to sleep then.

There was a fifty percent chance that those four Pokémon might follow me, so as soon as I found a small stream, I jumped towards it, and carefully continued walking to the direction of where the flow was heading.

The stream will hopefully cut off my scent, disabling them from following where I'll be heading.

The cool water helped me forget how tired and soar my body was, at least for that moment. Aside from the sounds of the water, there were also small groups of water types seated on the edges of the stream. Some of them were merrily chatting amongst themselves, while others took a moment to say hi to me.

Strange that they were also basic Pokémon though. No evolved Pokémon yet, as far as I've noticed.

After about five minutes of walking, I found a small clearing by the edge of the stream up ahead, and I saw a pair of tall tents, and a grayish smoke in the very middle.

Humans. Of course. No other specie would build up tents for shelter.

And that smell... Oh my... Is...is that a stew? One nice thing about being an Eevee is my newly gift of smell, and I can smell that it's a beef stew. My mouth started to water as I inch closer and closer to the clearing.

I pull myself out of the water and shook my paws, one by one. I don't know how dogs do it in Earth, but eh, this'll do for now.

It's great that there were tall bushes for me to hide from the humans though.

After brushing myself inside a bush, I cleared some leaves with a paw to have a better look. Three humans, already in their sleeping clothes. Two boys and a girl. Well, the trio looked like their teenagers though, and two of them seem to be a couple. One of the boys and a girl, I mean.

The other boy was seated on his sleeping bag at the entrance of a tent. He was busy with a pencil and sketchpad.

The couple were ‘lovingly’ teasing each other as they stir their cooking pot by the fire.

Judging from how big the pot looked, it seems that they won't be able to eat all of those.

“'kay, it's ready,” the girl called after taking a sip from a spoon. She has a red, short hair, only up to her shoulders.

“Oi, Fritz,” called her boyfriend, as he turned to their friend. “Stop your sketches and help me prepare the plates.”

This boyfriend had dark-blue hair, if the light from their fire isn't blinding my judgement of colors. His hair is long enough to cover both his ears though. This Fritz dude wore glasses, but he doesn't look nerdy at all. He has black, short and seemingly unkept hair.

“You should have prepared the plates while I was cooking, honeybun,” the girl pokes her boyfriend's cheek.

I roll my eyes. Ugh, lovey-dovey couples are sappy and weird.

Fritz then stood with a sigh and walked towards the couple. A small telescope swayed from his neckline as soon as he stood up though. And here I thought ring necklaces were weird...

“You two really know when to disturb me, huh? I was about to finish my sketch of the Eevee and Vulpix up in that mountain.”

Eh? I guess he must have seen Vixie and I while we were staring at Goldenrod City.

The two males prepared...nine...ten...twelve plates? They placed nine plates on the ground, near the fire. Soon, the three trainers threw Pokéballs in the air, calling out names of their partners. Soon, the entire clearing was filled with white light, and those white blobs materialized into nine different Pokémon...which are all in their basic forms.

Let's see here...

The Johto starter trio, two Sentrets, two Pidgeys, a Ledyba and a Hoothoot.

The nine Pokémon happily greeted their trainers, and soon, the girl scooped some stew and poured them on their Pokémon's waiting plates.

I heard a low growl, and I barely caught my gasp. Darn, I'm hungry, yes, but how the heck am I suppose to grab something to eat with nine Pokémon? Worse is that my growling stomach might blow my cover.

Seeing the happy munching Pokémon almost made me want to be captured.

With a sigh, I quietly walked out of the bushes and quietly left the campsite. Seconds after I began walking away, two Pidgeys and a Hoothoot landed a few feet in front of me.

“What is it gu—whoa! An Eevee!” the boyfriend's voice said from behind me.

I gasped and was about to make a run for it when the three flying types extended their wings, blocking any possible direction except to the trainer behind me.

Darn it! I have a runaway ability! Why isn't it working?!

“Oh wow, you're right!” came girlfriend's voice as I spun around.

The three humans were stood on the edge of the clearing, and behind them poked the heads of their curious Pokémon.

I glared at the approaching trainer, growled and took a few steps back, until I felt a soft feathery pillow on my tail.

“We're not going to hurt you, we promise,” Fritz said, stepping aside for me to see the girl preparing a Pokéball.

“Tell them I don't want to be captured,” I hissed.

A Pidgey shook his head. “Can't do that.”

“I prefer you not put on a fight,” the Hoothoot said. “It'll be quicker that way. And besides, they're pretty good humans.”

“Shouldn't we weaken it first?” the boyfriend asked.

The girlfriend shook her head with a determined smile. “I don't want to hurt a new family member. Just stay back and watch how an expert trainer captures a rare Eevee!”

Fritz rolled his eyes while the boyfriend chuckled.

“Last warning,” I hissed as she prepared herself to throw the Pokéball at me.

I felt my sharp nails on my front paws as she threw the Pokéball. I quickly grabbed a yelping Pidgey and used him as a shield. While still having a hold on him, I pulled myself up with my front paws, making the Pidgey cry in pain, and kicked the beaks of the other birds with my rear paws.

I then pushed the Pidgey aside and dashed forward, and in between the legs of the yelping girl. I headbutted a startled Cyndaquil, pushing him to the others, who stumbled in the process.

I kept my pace towards the plates, and used my mouth to grab the closest meat I could get, and made a run for it.

After going through countless trees and bushes, seven streams, eight hungry predators, three campsites, and a hundred flying Pokéballs, I finally arrived in Goldenrod City's...Team Rocket's underground base, inside a small and metal cage...

Great...

Seriously though, Gold should have already disbanded these creeps a long time ago!

A painfully slammed my aching head against the iron bar for God-knows how many times now. I painful groan escaped from my lips as I let my head slide down, along with my body, to lie down on the flat, cold and metal base. Sigh...

Blue's a male Spearow. He kept on talking and trying to tell me to stop my efforts of escape as soon as those grunts brought me here and left the room.

Speaking of, the room appears to me metallic and, even with my fur, the air is cold. The room consisted of four walls, and three of them were filled with cages stacked on top of each other, while the other is where the door to freedom is.

These Rocket grunts appeared to be smart enough to put some restraints on the Pokémon who can use elemental attacks. A Growlithe has a very painful-looking iron harness, shutting its mouth shut. A Cyndaquil has one as well, plus a metallic shell covering his back. Other fire types are also having some other metallic restraints on them, as well as some of the water types. The grass types however, were inside an aquarium-like cage, with very small holes provided for air, but not big enough for their vines to snake through.

...and oh, not all of the Pokémon here are alive, which increased the drive within me to escape as soon as possible.

Anyway, I kept on thrashing inside my cage, in hopes that this chunk o'metal falls down to the floor, and gets dismantled in some ways or another, and then I could flee.

After another weak attempt of a Double Kick, my front paws gave in, and I collapsed, panting heavily.

D-darn it... If only I wasn't so nervous of being caught by the trainers chasing me, I would have noticed the net trap that was hidden in a pile of leaves. That small clearing was almost clear of fallen leaves, except for that one suspicious spot, but oh silly me, I thought that if I hide under the leaves, the trainers wouldn't bother trying to look at it.

After the net sprang and lifted me in the air, those three trainers, who were strangers to each other, agreed to put me down and let me go, but lo and behold, Team Rocket showed up, and damn, their way of battle was very very dark for a children's game.

Those young trainers witnessed the death of one of their Pokémon before they decided to run for their lives after the grunts tried to attack them directly.

“Ya okay there, kid?” Blue asked again.

I don't really know his name, but I decided to name him ‘Blue’ because instead of red, his beak is blue.

I was so excited to reach the city and look for Bill, that I forgot that this world of Pokémon also has evil human organizations running around. Great. Just freaking great!

“Ah'll take that as a ‘no’ then,” Blue sighed.

“Just shut up and leave me alone,” I grunted as I tried to stand back up in all four.

I slammed my skull against the iron bar again, and I was reward by a powerful wave of pain. I suddenly collapsed yet again, and panted for breath.

D-darn it... I should have told them where I was going. I should have told them about my plan! If I did, then they'd sure to try and talk me out of it. Or at least chase after me, so there would be a small glimmer of hope that they'd come and rescue me...

Oh, who am I kidding... The grunts would just easily capture them as well. No... It's best that I didn't let them know about my plan... At least they're still out there, free...

There was clicking noise that echoed in the entire room. I turn my head in time to see the door open, and a single grunt, complete with their black uniform with a red ‘R’ on their shirt, came inside, carrying a cage with a sleeping...something.

He quietly placed the new cage beside mine, and left without saying a word. He closed the door, and another click echoed in the room, signalling that he locked the door from the outside.

I roll my eyes and grunt a reply as I turn my head again to see who's the newcomer. My tired eyes gave me a weird sight. It was a Rattata, complete with a goofy grin directed at me.

“F-Fay?!” That would have been louder if I wasn't tired.

“The one and only!” the stupid Rattata replied, all too cheery.

W-what the heck!? I crossed a lot of small streams in hopes that they wont catch my scent! Apparently, all those attempts for them to be unable to track me down fell useless...

“D-don't tell me that the others are here as well...”

She blinked, and smiled. “Okay. Then I won't tell.”

I slammed my head against the iron bars. “Great. Just great... You're caught, and soon, they'll get caught!”

“What? I'm caught?”

“Yes!” I hissed and turned to her. “Can't you see that...” and the cage was empty.

I blinked, and looked around. My gaze fell on Blue, and with his wing, he pointed at the floor below. I followed, and saw Fay was staring at me with a confused look on her face.

“How the—?” I looked back at her cage. The space in between the iron bars were too small for her to get through! “How? How did—you know what? Never mind...”

Either the rat logic back on earth applies here as well, or she's Mew. Or Ditto. Really, rats back on earth can go through small holes, even smaller than their heads. Maybe it's just their fur that makes them look big.

I stared at Fay, and shivered at the thought oh how skinny she was without the fur. Thank goodness for fur!

...and what's that smell?

“Aw, good heavens, Fay!” Blue cried, covering his beak as other Pokémon's disgusted voices echoed in the room.

I covered my nose with a paw and glared at the Fay, who was smiling sweetly and innocently. She then turned her head to a direction, and I followed it, and saw an air vent just above the door.

...and I think I heard groaning noises from there as well...

And I strangely found myself opening my eyes with a groan, even though I was still glaring at Fay...

“Can't stop what nature designed me to be,” and that's definitely Fay.

I suddenly felt my tired body as I realized that I was still lying on my back inside a tree root cave, perfectly hidden by bushes that surrounded this tall tree. I don't really recall how I found this place last night, but hey, at least it sheltered me from the cold night and the eyes of those three trainers.

...and it's spacious enough for four noisy Pokémon to stay.

“Oh,” Vixie was the first to notice my rising form. “Good afternoon.”

I stopped my yawn when her words sunk in. “A-afternoon?”

---

Author's Notes
This chapter was supposed to be Chapter 10, but I didn't like where this chapter was going.
So, I decided to just label this chapter into ‘Deleted Chapter 1’, but then I needed to write a dream for the hero while he's sleeping, so, here ya go~

I don't know why they have followed me here. I don't even know if I should ask them that question.

Shock, Fay, Saur, and Vixie.

Those four are really great friends, judging from the way they talk and laugh as we ate some berries that they have gathered while I was sleeping.

And oh, about sleeping... Vixie was right; it was already afternoon. I guess my Eevee body must've been pretty darn tired from the events that happened yesterday. I got chased by two young trainers, ran for who-knows how long, went down the cliff, walked in a stream, and fought against a group of Pokémon just to grab some meat to eat.

By the time I woke up, my belly's too hungry for me to complain about eating berries. They're actually not that bad, but I still prefer meat over berries.

...and I don't care if the meat came from Pokémon! Just as long as the meat's cooked and all. I don't think I can stomach raw meat.

I shivered at that thought.

I think I missed a joke or something, since my four companions laughed for a few seconds before their laughter died down.

“Well, anyway,” Shock said, fixing me a frown as he chewed on a berry. “I'm a bit angry at you, Eevee, for leaving us back there while you're down here wandering around to go home, if,” he waved a hand at Fay, “what Fay said was true.”

“I didn't... I mean,” I slowly returned my half-eaten berry back on the large leaf we used as a plate. I shook my head lightly.

Should I tell them now? Maybe I should, if I wanted them not to come with me.

...why wouldn't I want them to come with me? Wouldn't it be safer if we're going somewhere together, than being on my lonesome? Sure, I managed to snatch some food from trainers last night, but I don't think I can be that lucky every single time that I need to. ...I think...

As I look at their faces, they have every right to be angry with me for leaving them. When I first woke up in this world, they guided me to Celebi's pond. They treated me like a friend already, even though I was mostly complaining about Celebi not showing up and berries.

I sighed. “I'm sorry about that... Really, I am...”

Saur extended a vine and patted me on the head. I don't know if he realized, but his pats are a bit forceful and painful. Judging from his sweet smile, I'd say that he doesn't.

“...and ‘ouch’, by the way.”

“Oh, oops,” Saur quickly pulled his vine back with an apologetic smile. “I got used to smack Fay every now and then...”

Yeah, I noticed.

“So,” Vixie began, “why did you come all the way here?”

I guess I should tell them now. Whatever their decision will be, I'll respect it. I don't want them tailing me against their will anyway, or without their knowledge, and if my dream was any indication, I don't want to bring them to their very dooms...if Team Rocket still exist, that is.

“I'm...going to the city...”

The four gasped in unison, but Fay's was the loudest.

“You're going to cheese city?! Can I come? Please?”

I closed my eyes with a sigh of frustration and amusement. “It's not a city made of cheese!”

“We will never know until we get there!”

“Fay, shut up,” Shock said with a glare before he turned to me, his glare fading into concern. “Why are you going there? Surely, there will be humans in all corners!”

“Before I answer that,” I raised a paw to stall his objection, “how did you guys find me?”

“Pidgeys,” was Fay's cheerful reply.

“Oh...” Right... Even with my trail gone, they can still ask any Pokémon that happened to be where I was going. Stupid human logic... “Well, I was hoping to find someone there who could help me.”

“You're not willing to wait for Celebi in the forest?” Saur asked.

“You guys said that it's been months since anyone has seen her...”

“True,” Saur replied, “but it's still rather safe to wait there than wander in a human city.”

“Oh, well, I remember Lithe and Risa arguing about the circle. I'm not sure what exactly they're arguing about, but I heard bits of it, about raising a family, having some kids, and uh...”

Fay fell quiet as the five of us walked towards the direction of the city. We can't really see the city from our small points of views here inside the forest. We're only trusting Shock's instinct here, who is currently leading the party. He's an electric type, and he told me that electric types are always drawn to places with rich sources of electricity.

That sounded mighty logical...in a Pokémon-logic kind of sense, that is. There aren't really any electrical creatures back on earth...or are there?

“If Lithe and Rosa—”

“Risa,” Fay corrected her.

“Whatever,” Vixie shook her head. “If those two starts a family, then I'm glad I'm out of there. Those two have the thinnest line of patience, and to see them with kids...” she shivered at the thought.

They chuckled. I wanted to point out that they're going back there soon, but...

As usual, I was at the end of their little group. Somehow, despite the fact that they're afraid to be caught, they wanted to come with me to the city. Or escort me to the city.

It's almost sunset, or maybe the sun's already setting, if the golden orange sky's any indication. I still can't believe I slept all morning though.

There were other kinds of Pokémon that we've ran into. Aside from the normal flying types above the tree branches, there were also some Oddishes, Caterpies, and other Pokémon doing their usual stuff.

...we even ignored a little scene where a group of Spinarak were feasting on an unfortunate Venonat.

Vixie and Fay continued their little girl gossip. Sheesh, even in this world, girls are still gossiping about something. Saur was just happy to listen to them and answer when asked. Shock is busy leading the way, while still listening to their conversation. I, on the other hand, had no choice but to listen, since there's nothing more for me to do.

“So,” I began, eyeing him in the corner of my eyes, “uhm... I guess this is where we split ways?”

“I guess so,” he whispered his reply. “Can't I talk you out of this though? I still think it's stupid to go there...”

“I need to go there...” I whispered back as I held a sigh.

I haven't really told them my reason of going there...yet...nor about the fact that I'm...that I used to be a human.

Soon, we reached the edge of the line of trees, the edge of this forest, and beyond our eyes was now a grassfield of a few meters before concrete roads, walls and fences replaced the natural ground. And beyond those are buildings, streets, posts, a few trees, vehicles, and of course, humans. Lots and lots of humans.

“Wow...” Shock said. “This is even bigger than the other human settlement near the pond.”

“Azalea Town?” I asked him.

The others turned to me.

“For being an uncaptured Pokémon,” Vixie said, “you sure know a lot about the humans.”

I just shrugged a reply. We then noticed that a few humans were having a picnic in the grasslands. There were only a few of them though, but it looks like it'll be impossible to go to the city without any of them noticing me.

Children were playing around with other children or with Pokémon, and grown-ups are either keeping an eye on their kids, or were enjoying each others presence.

While Fay and the others were talking to each other of what they think of the humans, my eyes fell on a rather lonesome picnicker. She was the only one who is on the edge of the forest. She sat on her picnic blanket, her back leaned on the base of a tree, and her sad eyes stared at the peaceful rolling clouds.

She has pink hair, she wore a white and pink shirt, and blue mini skirt. Blue and black socks, and black shoes.

Of course, she's none other than Whitney, and she's looking sad. She probably lost to another trainer for her badge yet again.

I hate seeing sad people though. I have a soft heart for sad people back home. I guess I must have carried that same soft heart here, which is kinda lame. How on earth can I ask what's bothering her if she won't even be able to understand me?

But I felt like I needed to try though. Consider it a give and take opportunity, wherein I can satisfy my soft heart of helping her out, she lightens up and brightens up after talking about it, and who knows, maybe I can get an added bonus of her helping me out...or me ending up being caught by her.

...that last line of thought made me reconsider the idea of talking to her...

I still don't want to be captured, although I'm a bit sure that I'll end up being caught one day. If I do, then being caught by a gym leader would be a bit cool, and suck at the same time. I mean, if she catches me, does that mean I'll be spending the rest of my life here, bound by her gym's rules of staying a normal type forever and battle every single challengers?

Yeah, no. I don't want that. But I'm kinda curious if she still has that Nidoran though...

“Yeah,” I nodded, while ignoring the weird feeling of my drooping ears, “I-I guess it is. Thanks? For everything, I guess.” I smiled, I tried.

It...is kinda sad to say goodbye to these four though... Even though I don't know them that well, it felt like I knew them since forever. Saying goodbye to them, strangely hurts, and I almost wanted to forget my quest and stay with them.

Unfortunately, I don't plan to stay as an Eevee forever. Not to mention that I don't want to stay in this universe forever. I need to get home, and the sooner, the better.

“At least tell us your name before we go, Eevee.” Vixie said, trying to smile, but failing.

I blinked at that though. I never said my name? Wow, how impolite of me!

“Ah, yeah... My name's Jay, by the way...”

“Jay, huh?” Saur said. “Weird name for an Eevee.”

Strange that this Bulbasaur knows a lot though...

“I was expecting Eon or Leon or Neil, but eh...”

I arched an eyebrow. “Why?”

Shock just smiled and shook his head. “He was from a human daycare orphanage whatever before we found him wandering in the forest.”

Huh, really? I got a sudden strange feeling of wanting to learn more about these guys, but...

“Well, since you're right about the city not made out of cheese, I guess we should go back now!” Fay said cheerfully, although there were clear mixtures of hurt as well. I dunno if she's hurt that I'm leaving, or that the city's not made of cheese.

After they said their goodbyes for one last time, I watched them walk back further in the forest. Seeing them leaving was...painful to watch.

I tried sneaking my way towards the city. It didn't work. Some kids spotted me and started chasing after me.

Take 2...

I decided to walk casually, with no care in the world, walking in plain sight and headed straight to the city. Pokéballs were flying towards me...

Take 3...

I grabbed a Spearow and used him as a glider. I fell flat on the forest floor...and a lot of pecking on my head as an added bonus...

Take 4...

I disguised myself as a bush, and snuck my way towards the city. Some kids with great memory wondered how on earth a bush suddenly grew out on a spot.

I sighed as I started climbing down from the tree where I hid to lose those eager trainers off of my trail.

“You owe me a Caterpie in the morning,” I heard a flying type snickering, and another groaning.

My attempts have gathered a few spectators though, betting here and there to see if I could reach the city.

As I spent a lot of minutes on the ground, thinking of new ways to get to the city, the sun has already set, darkening the area, and my spectators went back to their homes, and some gave me words of good luck and other things like I'm crazy or I'll be ending up being caught.

The slowly darkening area was suddenly pierced by the city's bright lights, yet that didn't stop the cold evening air from making the picnickers to leave and go back to their homes.

...I wondered why I didn't decide to just sit and wait for the night to take over. Sheesh. Now, the grassfield is empty as heck, except for a few Rattatas and Sentrets and other scavenger Pokémon collecting leftover food from the humans.

Looking left and right and everywhere, just to see if there really are no humans around, I started walking out from the forest and walked on the grassfields. A few scavenger Pokémon hissed at me as I walked pass a few of them, threatening me not to steal their gathered food. I just rolled my eyes at them and continued.

I was halfway there when I stepped on something leathery. I picked it up and saw that it was a collar of some sort. It was pink.

Hm... Back home, dogs with collars meant that those dogs have owners. I wonder if that works the same in this world? Well, I am no dog. ...are Eevees dogs? Cats? Foxes?

...and shut up. Foxes don't say ‘ring dingdingling’ whatever.

I slipped the pink collar on my neck. It was stretchable, and it fits comfortably around my neck. I nodded to myself with a smile before I continued my way towards the city. Pink isn't really my favorite color of choice, but I hope it'll do it's purpose well.

There was a tall fence that separated the city from nature, but there's also a gate there, with two security guards standing by.

Okay... Time to see if this collar works.

I walked up to them, and one of them immediately noticed me.

“Hey there little guy,” he bent down and started petting my head. It felt...really comforting though, and I almost let out an annoyed growl when he pulled his hand back.

“Someone must have forgotten their Eevee...” the other said, scratching his head. “Really careless for them though. I heard Eevees are rare.”

“Are you lost?”

I shook my head, unknowingly wagging my tail a bit. It felt weird though, my tail wagging like that. If felt as if something was wiggling on my ass...

“Do you know how to get home?”

I nodded, despite the fact that I absolutely have no idea how to get home.

The guard smiled as he stood up. “Well, alright then. Just be careful, little one.”

Sheesh. They talk as if I'm a small child who cries when my candy's stolen from me... Whatever. I just walked and stopped on the sidewalk, waiting for the traffic lights to go red for pedestrians to cross.

A few people who were waiting to cross took a look at me, yet they just ignored me and looked ahead. A few even started petting me, much to my delight. I even earned a nickname ‘Cutesie’ from a small girl.

Finally, the traffic lights changed, and the many humans and I crossed the road. They were quite mindful not to step on me though, even those who were crossing from the other side. A trainer snapped his fingers in annoyance after he noticed my collar. Har har to you.

I was walking by an electronic shop when a reporter said someone's name. It caught my attention, and made me stop and turn to see a few television sets displayed behind a glass window of the shop.

“...and here we have Professor Oak to discuss with us his latest findings on this weird phenomenon. Professor Oak?”

A number of humans started to gather around me though, who were also interested in the news. I decided to walk closer to the shop's window so no human legs will be blocking my sight.

The cameraman moved the camera to none other than the very famous Pokémon Professor. Wow, he looked much older back on earth. Here, he just looked like he's in his late thirty's or early fourty's...

The professor nodded, shifting his serious gaze from the repoter to the camera.

“Thank you. Ahem...” he pulled out a folder, and flipped a few papers before he spoke once again. “Before that though, I'll give a quick summary of what's going on, for those who are still unaware of this phenomenon.”

Thanks. I guess?

“Two months ago, a strange shadow fell upon our region, and within the two-month timeframe, we've discovered that the whole world was affected. And within that timeframe, many researchers and professors searched for answers of the questions ‘what it was’ and ‘what did it do’, and many others.

“Unfortunately, even now, we don't know what it was, who or what did it, and why. As to what it did, well, many of you, who own and train an already-evolved Pokémon, have noticed that your partners went back to their basic forms.”

...what?

“Aside from that, it would seem that Pokémon, all over the world, lost their ability to evolve...”

...what?

Is...is that the reason why all of the Pokémon I ever met since I woke up are still in their basic forms? But they didn't seem to know anything about it, or do they?

...is that why there were many Pokémon by the lake, waiting for Celebi's arrival?

I suddenly noticed the growing rise of voices of the people around me. Their voices carried worry, annoyance, doubt, and fear.

“Now, from what we've gathered, we have discovered a number of legendary Pokémon on the move. Some of them are psychic types, and have the ability of telepathy. One of our researchers was able to converse with the legendary Mewtwo in the Hoenn region, sharing with us that Mewtwo and others are also looking at the cause of such phenomenon.”

“Legendary Mewtwo? I'm afraid that I haven't heard of such a Pokémon, professor.”

“Hence their titles as legendaries,” Professor Oak chuckled a bit, before looking serious again. “But anyway, knowing that even them are figuring out what caused this, that doesn't mean that we're just going to stop and let them deal with this, just because it's a problem only affecting Pokémon.

“No. This does not affect only Pokémon, but us humans as well. We have bonded with our beloved partners and grew up with them, and evolution is one of the greatest achievements we have gained from the bonds we have with Pokémon.”

Murmurs of agreement erupted around me, and others started sharing sad stories of discovering their devolved partners.

This is a strange phenomenon indeed. I wonder if it's somehow connected to how I got here. I don't think that there are any official games from Nintendo with this kind of phenomenon where a hero must go on an adventure and fix it.

Team Rocket wouldn't be behind this. It won't benefit them if all Pokémon are just in their basic forms. Then again, maybe their Pokémon still stayed normal and fully evolved.

But it has been two months now. Surely, that was enough time for them to ‘take over the world’, right? Or other evil organizations taking action. But neither the reporter nor the professor mentioned anything about it, so there wasn't any evil organizations behind this.

...wait, no. I have another problem to take care of. And that's to find Bill. Now where can he be?

I never really imagined that I'd one day be a homeless guy...er...Eevee. Back on earth, it always hurts my heart to see homeless people on streets and alleyways, sleeping, scavenging, or begging for food or money.

It really hurts... I help whenever I can though, like giving them some spare coins, with quiet hopes that they'll have a good day soon...

Now, I am forced to sniff some things out of this garbage bin in an alleyway. Things that could still be considered as food. I could go back to the forest, but I've spent the entire evening wandering around, trying to look for Bill. I'm in the deepest parts of the city, so I don't know if the forest is close by or not.

And stupidly, I spent the evening looking for Bill, without the knowledge of what the heck he even looked like! I have seen him in the animé, but I forgot what he looks like. I just kept on searching, hoping that the sense of familiarity will get to me when I do see him.

I looked at faces, climbed on windows, everything...

At least I managed to pull out a half-eaten burger. It was completely wrapped before it was thrown though, so I can at least consider myself lucky. It was too difficult to move around while holding this burger, so I bit it slightly to carry it before I carefully jumped back down on the concrete ground of the alley. I tasted the juices of meat and mayonaise, increasing the supply of saliva flooding inside my mouth.

A cold drop of water hit my nose as soon as I was back on the ground. Then, a lot of cold droplets of water began to shower the entire city. Yeah, there was a growing raincloud during the interview with Professor Oak though.

I quickly looked around, hoping to see some shelter. I do have the pink collar on me, but I don't want the humans to see me in this condition. They might pick me up and put me in some anima—er...Pokémon shelter or something, and lock me up there until my ‘owner’ comes to get me.

I saw a slightly worn-out cardbox box a few feet away from me. It looked like a makeshift cave or den, since the opened top was on the side, and there was a Pokémon lying there when I reached it. It was, thankfully, big enough for two Pokémon to fit.

“What do you want?” asked a grumpy Meowth, opening an eye to glare at me.

I nervously put the burger on my paws to talk, while shivering slightly from the cold rain and air. “Um... M-may I come in?”

“Go back to your female trainer,” and he closes his eyes, putting a tone of finality to our conversation.

But... “P-please?” I flashed a pout and puppy-dog eyes when he opened an eye again.

“...are you a female?”

I blinked. “N-no.”

He rose up into a sitting position. “Then don't give me that look unless you're a female.” He grunted as he extended a paw to me. “Half the burger.”

“B-but it's already half when I found it...”

“Then cut it in half, dumbass.”

I hated this Meowth already. Still, I get to have some shelter for the night. I went inside and gave him the burger as I tried to make myself comfortable. As soon as I lied down, I realized how stupid that was... This Meowth might eat the whol—

He threw the other half towards me, and I barely caught it with both my front paws. I glared at him as I began eating with a satisfied smile.

“Ah...nothing like a tasty Miltank burger before a good night's sleep,” he whispered to himself as he licked his paws as I ate.

I still craved for more though, but I guess this'll have to do for tonight.

“You're a run-away, huh?” the Meowth asked, starting up a conversation as the rain slightly became stronger. He was still busy licking his paws and rubbing them over his head and ears.

Since I am not doing that, nor does my body instinct is telling me to do it, then I guess Eevees aren't cats after all.

Anyway... “No,” I replied, “not really... I'm just...”

“Lost?”

“I'm looking for someone...”

“So you ran away to look for someone?”

I groaned. “No, I didn't run away from anyone. I came here to look for someone.”

“Why the girly collar?”

“It's just a disguised so I won't be captured.”

“Clever.”

I glanced at him, and he was giving me an impressed smile.

“Very clever. I might actually try that some time.”

“You can have it once I find the guy I'm looking for...”

“Eh...no. I know a Sentret in the sewers who collects collars out of boredom.” He yawned and lied down, eyes closed. “So, who are you searching for?”

I might as well tell him. He might be able to help me. I did asked a few Pokémon around the city during my search, but none of them knew Bill.

“A human named Bill...” I whispered before I sighed and closed my eyes. Damn, I'm suddenly feeling so tired all over...

“Heh... That crazy inventor?”

I opened my eyes and stared at him with hope. “So...you know him?”

“Of course. He gives me some Magikarp fillet each day when he's around.”

I rose up, and ignored my rumbling tummy after I heard the name of food. “R-really? Please, can you tell me where he lives?”

He just blindly points a paw towards the house across the road. With the lights from the street lamps, I could actually see the engraved letters on the door, spelling his name.

...oh. Well then... I'll just go there tomorrow. It's not like the house will disappear after a good night's rest, right?

“But you might want to prepare a few more food if you want me to let you sleep here.”

“Why's that?”

“He won't be back for another month or two. He just left to the train station ten minutes ago while you were digging up some food. So if I wer—h-hey! Where are you going?!”

I'm never getting a decent rest, aren't I? I know where the station is. Heck, I passed by that place twice or thrice during my search! As I pant and ran through the chilly night rain, I mentally cursed at fate for laughing at how much of a joke I am at the moment.

I no longer care for traffic lights. Heck, why should I? With the rain and the current time, I doubt there's anyone else awake at this hour. Well, Bill is, and a few people, but whatever.

The train station was far ahead now. I could actually see the reflected lights from the large glass doors of that huge building.

But suddenly, I heard a very piercing whistle noise form behind. I slightly took a glance, and saw two humans running after me, with a Growlithe and a Houndour in front of them.

“Pokémon Control!” Growlithe shouted.

“Stop or we'll be forced to stop you!” Houndour growled.

Oh, for f*ck's sake, I seriously got no time for this! I continued running through the streets, heading straight to the train station. There was a large digital clock on top of the building, lighted just right for everyone to see the time.

Ten minutes before midnight...

I was running towards another road when a slow-moving truck suddenly appeared from the corner of the building. But I didn't stop. Normally, I would, but I'm an Eevee at the moment, and I am small enough to run through under the moving truck.

I glanced back, and the two humans were no longer on my tail, but their Pokémon are, and they're angrier than ever. Well, one of them, at least...

The Houndour was getting pretty annoyed though. One factor is probably the rain. But the cold rain wasn't enough to stop him from breathing out fire aimed at me. It was fast, and I barely managed to steer myself out of the way before it hits me. The fiery wave heated my side as the inferno passed by, and erupted into a wall of fire a few feet in front of me.

But I didn't stop. I ran through it, and barely felt anything.

“I'm asking you stop, right now!”

I almost stumbled on my paws when that voice spoke directly from my other side. I turned and saw the Growlithe glaring at me.

“How'd—”

“Agility,” he said. “Now, stop or I'll force you to!”

I gritted my teeth. I can't stop, yet I can't lose them as well! I don't know any moves, but Sand Attack! Or a headbutt, or tackl—!?

I suddenly lost the feeling on my left paw, and I ended up stumbling and rolling until I sled to a stop on a bakery's sign post. The Growlithe skidded to a stop as I forced my tired body to get back up, but I suddenly lost all air in my lungs when I felt a powerful force pinning me down on the ground.

“You're lucky I'm not allowed to eat you, pup!” the Houndour growled close to my ear. “But try anything funny, and I swear, you'll never see daylight again!”

“Grindark!” Growlithe hissed. “Don't scare the poor champ!”

The Houndour growled at him. “Like you weren't scaring him earlier, Vic!”

“I wasn't.”

“Good job, you two!” a new voice said, panting for breath.

Those must be their human partners... D-darn...

“Looks like your Houndour is scaring another one again...” another one sighed.

“Shut up. Houndour needs to be intimidating in this job!”

“You two need to lighten up! Look! The poor thing's crying, and it has a collar! Who knows what kinds of trauma you two are causing him.”

...I'm crying? I...I guess I am... I must not have realized, seeing that I'm suddenly way too tired to even bother with the rain soaking me...

“So?” the human asked as the weight that was pinning me down was gone.

“So, if this Eevee's owner asks us what's wrong with it, you better be ready for an explanation.”

“It's them that should prepare an explanation for leaving their Pokémon running around in the city!”

“Are you lost?” Vic asked, walking towards me.

“W-when...” I whispered. “...train...depart...?”

I weakly stared at Vic's reflection on the wet cemented street as he turned towards the direction of the train station.

“Uh... Six minutes... Is your trainer there?”

“Bill...” I whispered as my sight was slowly becoming dark.

“Huh?” Vic asked. “What was that?”

I was too weak to respond, and I was slowly losing my consciousness...

A groan escaped my lips as I moved my body, which felt really really strange at the moment. I'm lying on my back, on a very flat and uncomfortable bed, and I could feel the thin blanket covering my body, except for my head.

Ugh...is it morning already?

I grabbed the blanket and tossed it to the side. I sat up and stretched my arms as I grit my teeth. After that, I dropped both my arms back as I yawned. I then started rubbing the sleep off of my eyes with my...hands?

I blinked as I stared at the human hand right in front of my face.

Chirping noises... They sounded louder now. Iorgetting the hand for a moment, I turned to the noises and saw two little blue birds hopping inside my room from an opened window and landed beside an opened box of pizza on the nearby table. The two birds started pecking on the leftover pizza.

Oh yeah... I did order pizza last night. But I didn't manage to finish it and left it there...and now the birds are eating my breakfast.

I looked back at my two hands again. I wiggled my fingers, and they moved.

I heard the birds viciously flapping their wings as they chirped in panic. I looked back at the window and gasped in horror.

A large human eye was staring back at me from the outside! The huge head moved upwards, and I briefly saw the giant's manic smile before it pushed its large and lengthy arms through my window, breaking it in the process! It stretched its palm open to grab me!

I suddenly heard a lot of panic shouts in the background as I pushed myself further back, but the giant arm quickly grabbed me, squeezing me as I was pulled outside—

—the cage...?

“Oh, you poor thing...” I heard a female voice, from a sea of faint voices, as I felt myself being carried like how humans carry a newborn baby.

I felt a swish of air, probably whoever was carrying me turned a bit. I briefly saw a uniformed guy locking the cage, probably from where I was sleeping. There were other white and clean cages, but my blurry eyes couldn't focus on any creatures inside...

I suddenly felt my tired body... My furred body... I looked up and saw Nurse Joy with a look of worry as she looked ahead and walked...somewhere...

I was feeling a bit uncomfortable, so I slightly moved to get comfortable. My little struggle made the nurse glance down on me with a small smile.

“Don't worry little one... I bet a good and healthy breakfast will fix you right away!”

...horay that I'm still a small Eevee...and horay that I'm being treated like a child... I sighed. Well, at least that dream reminded me of how much I missed being a human. Hopefully, that'll give me strength to keep on looking for a way to get back, since Bill is no longer an option...I think...

...I just hope there's no titan invasion back on earth...

I heard a creaking noise as a fresh cool breeze swept by and the soft morning rays of the sun temporarily blinded me. Nurse Joy went outside? With me?

Nurse Joy turned and then started walking.

I faintly remembered that I got captured by the animal con—er...the Pokémon control...unit? So, does this mean Nurse Joy pulled me out from ‘prison’? Can't get my hopes up just yet though. She might just be a nurse there, just checking up on the Pokémon.

I'm not comfortable with the idea that there are Pokémon being caged against their will. Then again, I shouldn't really trouble myself with them, no matter how sad the idea was. I should worry about myself more...

I sighed... I don't want to sound selfish...but I don't want to stay as an Eevee forever... I want to be a human again! And despite my sucky luck with the girls, there was one girl that I was planning to ask out on a date! I was just...gathering my courage...slowly... Sigh...

I heard a mechanical hiss from the sliding glass door, and the instant it opened for us, my powerful and hungry nostrils was struck with a lot of delicious scents of food that instantly flooded my mouth, and my stomach immediately started a noise barrage...

The nurse chuckled at my reddened and embarrassed face.

She put me on a table, like, literally on top of a table, just beside the glass window of the cool restaurant. She sat on a chair and smiled at me, before turning her attention to the menu after the waiter arrived and gave it to her.

She ordered some salad, and the waiter nodded as I rolled my eyes. Sheesh, even the girls here are on a diet to stay in shape. Then again, why shouldn't they? Nurse Joy seems attractive enough, and around my age...er...my human age, at least, and I could definitely be willing to ask her out, if I weren't a Pokémon.

But...she lacks...the spark? I dunno. I only try and ask girls out if the instant I saw them, I feel this weird ‘spark’... Though most of those with the spark are already in a relationship...hence why I am still single...

A few of my friends kept on urging me to ask the other single ladies back home, but they don't have the spark, so I didn't bother.

...or maybe I'm just being picky?

“What would you like to have?” Nurse Joy asked as she slipped the Pokémon food menu on my paws.

...and no. I will not consider this as a date...

I stared at the assorted blocks of colored marshmallows with slight irritation until I sighed and randomly pointed at something. The waiter nodded at us before he left, promising us that the food will arrive shortly.

“So,” Nurse Joy said, smiling at me. “The people at Pokémon Control assigned me to look after you while your trainer accidentally left you here all alone...”

So I was right all along that Nurse Joy's just doing this to me because it's her job now... I sighed. I was still clinging to a faint hope that something caused Bill's train ride to be cancelled... I let the nurse babble as I stared at the city beyond the glass window.

On the bright side, at least I'm not caught by some random trainer and forced to travel with him...or her. And at least I won't be starving in the streets. Still, waiting...sucks...and I'm a bit impatient. Okay, I'm really impatient.

Hm... Maybe I should go to Bill's home and see what things I can dig up...

“—so until then, you'll be staying in the center until your trainer comes back to pick you up.”

I gritted my teeth in annoyance as I ignored Grindark's remark. I was seated on a white circular table, where Nurse Joy hummed and groomed me with a pink brush.

“Don't forget to bring some chocolates.”

My eye twitched as the Houndour laughed at his remark.

“Har de har har...” I glared at his laughing form.

“Sounds like you two are getting along,” Nurse Joy commented as she moved to brush my tail.

I glared at her, but she didn't bother looking at my face.

“He-hey, maybe if you're lucky, you and your special guy might even have some fun later tonight!”

He howled in laughter as I added more force on both my clenched teeth and death glare. Vic, the Growlithe, who was seated beside him, sighed.

“Knock it off, Grin...” the Growlithe began, “you're making the young lad angry...”

The Houndour just kept on laughing.

The Growlithe sighed and looked at me with an apologetic smile. “Try not to mind him so much, lad. He's just frustrated for never having a mate.”

“Hahahah, yeah that's so tr...” Houndour stopped and sharply turned a glare at his friend. “H-hey! I resent that!”

Now it was my turn to grin. “Oh, so that's why, eh?”

The Houndour glared at me while the Growlithe chuckled.

“Shut it, pup!”

“Or what? You'll murder me and gift me to the closest girl and ask her out on a date?”

Grindark barked at me and stood up on all four, and looked like he was ready to jump at me on this table when Nurse Joy shushed him. I stuck my tongue at him.

“Grr... Just you wait when she leaves, pup!”

“Oh? Don't worry. I'll ask her to groom you pink.”

Even though I finally turned the teasing to my favor, I needed to mute them down as I began to think of ways to get outta here. I am still inside the Pokémon Control building, where a lot of humans and Pokémon can see me if I try to escape.

Hm... Maybe I can stir some chaos around here and flee while everyone's distracted? Yeah, no, I don't think a puny little Eevee can do that. I can try and anger Grindark to the point that he'll want to kill me, but...eh...no.

My little train of thought was broken when Nurse Joy suddenly carried me up to her br...chest. Yeah, chest. Darn...even though I'm an Eevee, I still think and THINK like a human... I looked away from...it, and tried to ignore the feeling.

...why didn't I felt like this when she carried me to and from the restaurant earlier? Probably 'cause I was tired back then...and hungry, but whatever...

“We're going to the Pokémon Center, little one. Even though I'm asked to watch over you before your trainer comes back, I still have a job back at the center,” oh...yeah...figures... “And I can already imagine the angry look my little sister's going to give me for being late.” And she laughs a bit.

Gee... I've always wondered why all the nurses are Joys... Identical Joys... How did their mother ever...you know what? Perish the thought. I don't wanna know.

Hm... The Pokémon Center's a few more blocks away, but I can already see the red roof from afar. If the center's glass doors are facing us, that means we're facing North. Ilex Forest is down south.

If she's going to be busy treating trainers' Pokémon back to health, then that'd be the perfect time for me to make my escape.

Took us a lot of minutes to get there though. She walked slower than other people around, she needed to stop on pedestrian lanes, and she had some small talk with a few girls on the way. And when I say small talk, I meant talks that lasts for almost half an hour, complete with my cheeks being pinched and my head being petted. Normally, I'd enjoy the petting, but she took god knows how long, and it ticked me off!

Gah! Whatever! At least we're now here, and she's having an earful from her identical twin for being late.

After their little argument, she carried me to the nurse's room, and I showed some decency by turning around and closing my eyes as she changed her clothes into...

“Ta-dah!”

...it still looked like the same nurse clothes she wore from earlier, but a bit...cleaner now.

After that, she carried be behind the counter, where her sister was angrily waiting for her. With her sister storming her way to who knows where, Nurse Joy sent out her Chansey, and they started treating trainers' Pokémon, along with other not-Joy nurses around. Huh, well, I guess not all nurses are Joys. But still...

Anyway, I just sat there on the counter, and from what I heart, most of the trainers' Pokémon received their wounds and bruises from the gym leader herself.

Yeah, a Miltank's one scary not-evolved Pokémon.

...and since Pokémon can no longer evolve, trainers would be having a hard time defeating a rollout monster. Damn... I sure am glad I wasn't caught by trainers! I can't imagine myself flattened by that monstrosity.

...and I've been sitting here for far too long. I looked around and saw a wall clock. Almost noon. Eh, I guess I'll have some lunch first before I go wander around.

Nurse Joy gave me another plate of those marshmallow-like Pokémon food again for lunch... I sighed as I forced myself to satisfy my belly. They're really not that bad but, it just feels...kinda awkward for the human within me to eat...Pokémon food. Talk about major discrimination...but what can I do about it? I turned into an Eevee, and there's nothing I can do about it...yet.

Nurse Joy, after she was done eating, just left me here in the center's cafeteria with other Pokémon and trainers. Both humans and Pokémon were discussin about strategy on how to beat Whitney.

Ah, my early nightmares of crying for how many tries it took me to beat Whitney is flooding back.

After I ate, I rested for a bit, since it's not really a good idea to start moving after a meal. It'll upset our stomach, as far as I've heard and experienced back on earth.

I allowed myself a half hour rest, just listening to the trainers and Pokémon talking with each other. Strange that these Pokémon weren't concerned about their freedom taken away from them. I wonder if it's because a Pokéball brainwashes them, or something. I mean, come on, even Saur and Shock warned me that I'll probably get captured.

Anyway, I stood on all four and went back to the main hall. Nurse Joy appeared to be busy enough not to notice my arrival. I could try and climb out from that window, but the trainers might notice me. Hm...

I walked towards the sliding doors and tried not to put any attention to myself. I sat beside a large plant pot...well, I was going to say flower pot, but the plant's not a flower, so a plant pot it is.

I waited for trainers to retrieve their Pokémon and walk out. I tailed a female trainer, who was wearing a very very short skirt. And yesh, I glanced up for a bit, and it was pink. Shame on me, eh? Blame the ‘human male urges’ within me. Whatever. At least I'm out now.

Pink... Huh, I almost forgot that I'm wearing a pink collar.

I quickly turned towards the nearest alley and hid myself in the shadows. It's still bright and sunny, despite the strong rain that occurred last night.

Hm... I need to look like I'm not hiding from human eyes. I did it last night, so it shouldn't be a problem if I try it again, right?

Eh, I think I'll need a few props to look like I'm already ‘owned’. I looked around and saw a box of some kiddie meal from a fast-food restaurant or something. There was nothing inside, but at least the box looks like it's just recently thrown here. This'll do.

I bit the cardboard handle and walked out of the alley. I walked on the streets, amongst humans and a few Pokémon following their trainers. Eyes fell on me, but most of them ignored me. Most of them, 'cause a few of them stopped and stared at me, wondering who on earth was my lazy trainer for ordering an Eevee to buy meals for him. Some found my little pretend to be cute for doing my trainer a favor. I just rolled my eyes at them.

Whatever. At least I'm now in front of Bill's door. His name's engraved on the wooden door. I spat the box I was carrying and stared at the knob.

The doorknob's too high for me to reach though, for some strange reason, so I quickly ran to the alley between Bill's and some house. The windows are closed shut, like at front. I walked to the other alley, and yeah, windows are also closed. Darn... I wonder if there's a backyard or something...

Eh, no. Exactly behind the back wall of the house is another wall of a tall building, leaving no spaces for even dust to enter in between...

Hm... I could try and poke the windows, and hope that I could open them?

My ears stood up as I looked up, and saw a Meowth lazily lying on his back on the window sill.

...strange that I didn't even notice him there 'til now. Maybe he just got here?

“Eh, yes please?”

He smiled. “And what's in it for me?”

...darn it... Hm...

“Uh...maybe there's a fridge inside and some...Magikarp fillet?”

“Heh... So you're bribing me to steal food?”

“...you'd rather want trashed food?”

“I like how you think,” he stood up and jumped beside me. Cats have great jumping abilities, even in this world, it seems.

He gestured for me to follow him, and we went to one of the alleys, and stared at a window.

“Can't let any humans see us breaking in under the clear day, eh?” He lifted a finger and a very sharp and shiny nail poked out as he grinned.

He slid his nail on the window in a circle, and afterwards, he carefully pulled it out. Wow... That was the first time I ever saw something like that in real life. I mean, they're common in movies, but come on, it felt so impossible to do realistically!

Anyway, he jumped on the window sill and extends a paw towards me. He helped me up, and pulled the window curtain up before we went inside.

Bill's home's...gloomy. Well, the curtains did shield the sun's light. We were in the living room, and the two of us jumped on the sofa and then on the floor.

“Nice place,” the Meowth commented as we stared at the neatly arranged furniture, paper stacks, magazines, and books.

The place doesn't really look anything special though, except for his flat-screen t.v. It has a lot of wirings crawling up from a wall behind it, and continued to a room beyond.

I heard a faint and cold hiss, and saw an orangey light from another room. That was probably the kitchen, and...

“Hello, my love...” ...Meowth was already rummaging through the refrigerator.

I shook my head and went to the other room where the wires were going. The door was opened slightly. The wires probably stopped it from closing completely. I lightly pushed the door open, and I was greeted with a room far messier than my own room being hit by a tropical storm. Papers, folders, pen and pencil were littered everywhere. There was a computer on a table filled with other pieces of paper, a bed of papers, a chair of papers, a shelf of papers, and a drawer of papers...

Damn, these are a lot of papers. I looked at the walls, and saw a few pictures stuck on them. There was a calendar, and it was filled with small notes, and one date was circled red. Walking on the sea of papers and jumping on the bed of papers, I leaned closer to the calendar. The circled date was Saturday, and there was a note there.

‘Meeting with Professor Oak’

So he did went to Kanto... Sigh...

I wonder if I could get into the train. Since he went to see Professor Oak, then Bill probably went to Pallet Town.

I nodded to myself. Yeah, that's probably a good plan. Besides, it'll be cool to visit Kanto, especially Pallet Town. I just hope that Red and Green are there and not Ash.

I looked around the room again. I don't want many people around when I try and get inside the train, so yeah, I guess I'll just wait for the day to be over.

Hm... Well, while I'm here, I might as well do some research. If Bill went to see Oak, then he's also probably researching for whatever caused all Pokémon to be unable to evolve. A good place to start a search would be on his computer.

I jumped off the bed and went to the system unit that sat under the computer table. I turned it on and jumped on a chair, and waited for it to boot.

Password... Darn. Erm...

Eevee? Eh, no. Pokémon? Nope... Bill? No... Hm... Inventions? Gah...

I jumped down and pulled the power cord. Sigh...

Well, the sea of papers should hold some valuable—

“I'll save this fish for later... Now...” I heard Meowth's delighted voice echo around the house.

I roll my eyes as I began to fish something interesting from the sea of papers...

There were a few of those papers that were just filled with data about different Pokémon, and some comparisons between the ‘then’ and ‘now’. I think Bill was researching if there were any changes within a Pokémon after their inability to evolve. Unfortunately, he found no changes.

There are also files about the different teams assigned to investigate in different regions, and the summaries of their findings, which was...none of any significance, except for what Mewtwo have told a few researches in Hoenn.

I have also learned that a team in the Kalos region have spotted Celebi and Mew flying east. Of course, they were unable to catch their attentions, nor have they managed to capture a picture. Still, that information was very useful. At least now I know that it's useless to wait for Celebi in Ilex Forest.

There was also a team tasked to go and look for Arceus in the Sinnoh region. Since he's known as the God of Pokémon, it's quite understandable that they'll seek his knowledge of what happened. Unfortunately, locating the Pokémon was close to impossible, but the team were still looking for ways to make contact.

I also managed to dig up Bill's worn diary. The first page contained his computer's password. I plugged the computer back in and booted it up. It was difficult to type with paws though, but manageable. Anyway, I hit the Enter key, and it accepted the password.

The computer's O.S. is...I dunno what this is. It's not Windows nor Mac, nor anything I've seen back on earth. But whatever. That's not important.

“Wat'cha lookin' for?” Meowth asked, licking his paws as he sat on the bed.

I...am not entirely sure why I'm doing this research... To kill the time, maybe? I am, after all, waiting for the night so I can sneak into the train.

“Just...doing some research about why Pokémon can't evolve anymore...” I replied as I opened a folder labelled ‘important’. Using a mouse with paws is too freaking difficult! I miss my thumbs!

“Oh?” Meowth said. “Huh, I actually forgot all about that.”

I stopped and looked at him in shock. Seriously? Evolution is one of the greatest things a Pokémon can achieve, and he just ‘forgot’ that no Pokémon can evolve?

“You're kidding, right?”

He shrugged and resumed cleaning himself by licking his paw and rubbing it around his body. “I guess it doesn't really affect me much. In fact, I think it's a blessing.”

“Pl...please enlighten me...”

“Hey, things are fair now. No more overly powerful evolved Pokémon pushing us weak and unevolved Pokémon around. It's a win for me, and good riddance for that dum ol' Persian.”

Ah...huh... Territorial rivalry... Okay then... Still, I got nothing else to do to pass the time, so I might as well see what's up.

I didn't realize the hours I spent there though, searching for something, but I was thankful for the time on the lower-right of the screen. It was already six in the evening. Though my search ended up as nothing, at least I did managed to kill the time.

I shut the computer down and made my way towards the fridge and pulled some meat from the freezer after pushing a chair to climb on. Thankfully, Bill has an oven, so I placed the meat inside and set the oven to the appropriate settings, and waited.

After a few minutes of waiting, the smell of deliciously cooked meat made my stomach growl and woke Meowth up, who fell asleep on the bed of papers.

“Mm... Never knew you can cook!” Meowth said, jumping on the counter and sat beside me. “I could have asked you to cook those tuna cans I ate earlier.”

I shrugged. “You didn't ask. And oh, do you have a name?”

“Just call me Kit.”

“Jay.”

“Weird name for an Eevee.”

I shrugged again. “Not the first time I've heard someone said that to me.”

“Heh, so anyway...” Kit turned to the oven, staring at the cooked meat under the orange light. “You plan on living here and wait for that inventor?”

For an inventor, I am yet to see any of his inventions around. Maybe they're all in the attic?

I shook my head. “No. I don't think I can wait for a month or two for him to be back.”

“So...?”

“So... I'm going to ride the train to Kanto.”

Kit was about to react when the lights from the oven was gone and a ‘ding’ sound from it startled him.

“And dinner is ready!” I opened the oven and went to grab some cloth to grab the hot tray, but Kit beat me to it by hungrily pulling the tray out, and yelped as he dropped the tray of meat down on the floor. “Careful,” I deadpanned, “it's obviously hot.”

He shot me a glare. “You could have told me that before you opened this damn cooking box machine, you know!”

Kit jumped down and kicked the tray that covered the meat. I just remembered that he's a street cat, and he might claim it all to himself!

He looked up at me with an angry frown. “So, oh so wise one. How will we cut this in half?”

I blinked. Cut in half? Now that I think about it, he also did cut that burger in half...

His frown deepened. “Meowth to Eevee. Hello?”

I snapped back and shook my head. “Oh, uh, sorry...”

He just glared at me some more. “I'm getting hungrier by the minute here, so don't force me to eat this for myself.”

I pulled out a small knife from the silverwares and jumped on a chair and then to the floor. Kit just shook his head. What? It was a very high jump from the counter to the floor! I'm not a cat.

I put the knife on the floor in between us.

“Use this.”

He took it, studied it, shrugged, and started cutting the meat with the dull edge of the knife.

“Um... Wrong side.”

He jerked a bit before turning the knife to the right edge. “I knew that.”

Kit and I went out of Bill's home through the hole the Meowth created on the window. Before we left, however, we made sure that the few lights we turned on were off, the oven was unplugged, and the fridge was closed.

Unfortunately, as soon as my four paws landed on the ground, flashlights were lit on us, followed by an angry growl and a tired sigh.

After my eyes adjusted to the sudden torrent of bright lights, I saw the two Pokémon Control humans again, the same guys who chased me last night. In front of them were their loyal dog Pokémon, and behind them was a worried-looking Nurse Joy.

When I turned to my companion, the Meowth was already gone. There was a struggling noise up above, and when I looked up, I saw his curled tail disappearing on the rooftop.

Fighting, fleeing, or talking would be useless though, so I sighed and let Nurse Joy pick me up. The humans were heading towards the Pokémon Control building as they tried to talk to me of how much trouble I've caused. Nurse Joy voiced out her concern of my sudden disappearance from earlier.

I didn't pay them any attention though.

They stopped and waited for the pedestrian light to turn green. I stood on my hind paws and rested my front paws on the nurse's shoulder as I glanced at the large clock on the train station blocks away.

Six thirty-one... The sky is bluish black with a sprinkle of twinkling stars. No rain tonight, it seems.

I looked down and saw the two dogs were eyeing me. I ignored them as I looked around. There were a lot of humans waiting for the lights to change.

Hm... I wonder...

I turned to where the nurse was facing. Lots of humans on the other side of the road as well. And...there's a truck facing the station's direction.

Hm... ...yeah...it's worth a shot...

“Hey pup,” I blinked, and turned to my left, and saw Houndour stood beside the nurse, and was glaring at me. “Remember... Try anything funny, and I'll rip your head off.”

“Grinda—”

“Shut up!” he sharply turned to the Growlithe who was behind him. “I missed my afternoon nap because of that freaking kid!”

The pedestrian lights turned green. Humans started walking. The driver of the truck seemed to change gear. It was a pick-up truck. Perfect.

“Oi,” I called without looking. I felt my heart race. I'm feeling nervous, but I decided to ignore it as best as I could. “Wanna see crazy?” my tone failed to hide my nervousness though.

If the dogs said something, then I probably have missed hearing it because of the loud painful scream of Nurse Joy after I bit her arm. I quickly jumped towards the face of a woman before the nurse's flailing arms would throw me away. I kicked my paws again from the yelping face and my back landed on the chest of a man. He yelped as I fell on the concrete road. I scratched his foot and ran towards the truck, which was already passing by.

I jumped and barely managed to grab a hold as I heard a lot of fallen coins from the chaotic crowd. I gasped as I slipped, but a paw grabbed my paws and pulled me up to the truck.

“You owe me a lot of dollars, kid!” Kit grunted after I was finally inside the truck. “And I still think this is a dumb idea.”

I ignored him for a moment as I ran to a crate near the driver's seat. I climbed up on the crate and looked at the time.

“Six thirty-eight...” I then turned back to the Meowth. “What time is the train going to Kanto again?”

Kit deadpanned. “Gee, you're welcome. And Seven.”

My eye twitched as I ‘tsk'ed’. Twenty more minutes. No no... Just calm down... Just concentrate on going to the tra—

A loud thud echoed and Kit and I yelped as an angry Houndour growled at me. “That's it! You're dead!” and he fired a fierce flamethrower which I barely managed to dodge.

I was actually quite surprised that I was able to dodge it from how shocked and unprepared I was. I landed, but then the truck screeched to a stop, sending me towards the metal wall with a thud, along with Grindark and Kit.

The Houndour was beside me, and opened his mouth to bite me, but I swiped my paw on his eyes, making him yelp and jump back.

“What the devil—?” the driver said and gasped.

“Inside!” I shouted as I ran and jumped towards the driver's face. “Hurry!” I kicked my paws and landed on the driver's seat.

Kit nervously jumped inside as I jumped down and slammed my two paws on the gas, almost throwing me back when the truck suddenly moved forward. Kit yelped and was probably thrown back as the door slammed close.

“Wh-wh-w-what the hell are you doing?!”

“Grab the wheel!” I yelled back.

“Wh-what wheel?!”

“The steering wheel goddamni—ack!” The truck crashed on something, and I heard shouts and gasps as my head hit something solid and ouchful. I grit my teeth as I pulled Kit's tail, pulling him down. “This?! See this?!” I grabbed his scared head and made him stare at the gas pedal. “Push that thing down! Got it?!”

He mumbled something as I let him go and climbed back up on the driver's seat. I turned and stood on my hind paws and grabbed the steering wheel with my front paws as best as I could. Eh, we hit a car...an expensive looking one as well...

Before I could tell Meowth to push it for Pete's sake, the passenger's door bursts open and Grindark was climbing up on the seat.

“You are SO dead, pup!”

“Shi—”

The driver's door flew open and the frantic-looking driver looked at me in utter disbelief.

“NOW YOU USELESS CA—WHOA!!!” I was almost thrown back when Kit suddenly hit the gas. I turned the wheel to get away from the car we hit. We got away and the doors closed, one of them slammed on Houndour's yelping body. There were cars up ahead, and I did my best to steer and dodge them.

Six forty-two...

“C-can I stop now?!” Kit cried.

“You better stop now!” Grindark snarled as he grabbed on the seat for dear life.

“I'm tempted to slam this truck and turn you into a pancake!” I snarled back at him.

“W-what?!”

“Not you, Meowth!”

The station was close now...

“Brace yourselves!” I shouted as I sharply turned the steering wheel, turning it to the right and slamming on a concrete wall. The impact made me slam myself on the steering wheel and I almost lost all of the air in my lungs.

The windscreen shattered as the truck skidded and was slowly turning over, and when it finally did, it continued until the truck was up-side-down and finally skidded to a stop.

I groan as I felt a hot trail of liquid from my nose and head. As painful as I body was, I needed to move...

I pushed myself up, and saw both the Meowth and Houndour were knocked unconscious. I quickly ran outside through the broken windscreen and ran through the sea of humans who were thankfully ignoring me.

Six forty-five... Fifteen more minutes...

The people were so busy staring at the wrecked truck that I managed to slide through the sliding doors of the station. The air was cool, and I wiped my nose and head with a paw before running towards the train.

There was a ticket booth and waiting seats, but all were empty as all eyes were outside. Well, the train isn't empty at least, though the passengers were trying to have a good look at what happened through the windows. I managed not to get any attention as I walked inside the opened door, and quietly lied below a seat by the trash bin. Hopefully, the bin and the sea of feet will shield me from the eyes of humans...

A groan escaped my lips as I woke up. Damn...yesterday was as crazy as heck... My body feels so darn beat... Ugh...doubt that I could move...

...strange that I'm lying on an earthy ground and not on the metallic floor of the...train...though...?

...I rode the train...didn't I?

...but...why...? ...wha?

Even though I'm covered in fur, I can positively tell that I'm lying on an earthy ground. Gah... This is useless... I opened my eyes and squinted after the bright...everything welcomed my sleepy eyes. Took me a few seconds for my eyes to adjust, and I saw that I was indeed lying on the ground. Ahead was...uhm... On the left was a peaceful stream, while on the right was a line of trees, probably an edge of a forest or something...

“He's awake!”

“GAH!” I jumped back in fright after a huge white face flashed before my eyes. As I landed back on the ground, however... “F-F-Fay?!”

“The one and only!” the Rattata stood on her hind legs and twirled in place, and bowed to me like a ballerina would.

“Stop scaring him! Geez,” a familiar voice echoed from my right. I turned and saw the rest of her friends standing up. “One of these days, you're gonna give him a heart attack!” Shock scolded her, but Fay appeared to have not heard him. “...it went through the other ear, didn't it...?”

Saur and Vixie chuckled.

Okay, I'm totally missing something here... Also, strange that I no longer feel weak nor hurt all over... Anyway... “Could anyone please explain what's going on?” I looked at Fay, and then at the group, and then at Fay again, and I'm starting to get annoyed at her innocent smile.

“Oh! Oh!” the Rattata excitingly jumped in place, smiling wide. “Can I tell the story? Can I? Can I?”

“By all means,” Shock glared at her, “no.”

“Aw...” her ears and smile drooped.

“But you can add your comments in the story,” Saur said.

“Really?” her ears stood up and her smile was back...

“Stop encouraging her...” Shock facepalmed. I sat down (after kicking my tail out of the way) as he and the others joined their rat friend. “Okay, where to start...”

“We were so worried about you so we went to the city despite the danger and there were crashings and noises everywhere(!) and then we asked a few Hoothoots of where you are and we went to this HUGE huge human building but the humans were busy looking at what they called an ‘accident’ so I followed your scent to the huge and speedy metal thingy that didn't move so we took you and brought you here! The end!” Fay said with a huge and toothy smile. “Nice pink collar, by the way!”

...and that's how to make a short summary...

“That...actually sums it all up...” Shock sighed in relief, probably thankful not to tell a long story.

I pulled the collar off of me and threw it to Fay, which she caught with her paws happily. “Go crazy with it.”

Fay actually giggled like a child and started playing with it...thankfully, not in a dirty way...

“But I was hurt all ov—”

“Saur used Synthesis,” Vixie explained.

“—er...er...ok.”

“But Joe—”

“Jay,” I corrected.

“Whatever,” Shock rolled his eyes. “What in Giratina's marbles were you doing there?! We heard that you caused that wreck back in that human city!”

...I wonder if things would have been easier if I told them everything about me...and I wonder why I am not mad at them for destroying my chances of going to Kanto... Huh, now that I think about it, I can't seem to get angry with them for ruining my chances to get to Kanto.

“By all means,” the Pikachu hissed, and I cringed, strangely feeling guilty for some reason...

“Shock,” Vixie spoke, making the Pikachu to take a huge breath to calm down.

“Sorry... Sorry...” Shock said, still breathing in and out to calm himself.

Saur nodded for me to talk.

“Well, uhm... I was...trying to go to Kanto.”

“I thought you said that you went to the city to go and look for some human?” Vixie asked, blinking.

“I was,” I nodded. “But I learned that he wasn't in the city anymore, and is in Kanto.”

“But why the wreckage?” Shock asked.

“A couple of humans and dog Pokémon were trying to stop me...so I...tried to force my way to that train so I could get to Kanto.”

“What's a train?” the Vulpix asked.

“The ‘huge and speedy metal thingy that didn't move’,” I explained together with air quotes.

Shock nodded. “Okay. Things are understandable.” He nodded again and gave me a small, apologetic smile. “So...I guess we ruined your chance to get to Kanto, huh?”

Strange that they know the region names, yet they don't know what a train is. Aw well...

I shrugged and smiled. “I'm not angry though...which is strange, even for me.” I'm actually glad to see these four again, but eh...I'd rather not tell them to avoid being sappy and all...

The three smiled back, and I then noticed that Fay's four paws were tied by the collar, and she was giggling while hopping in place, trying to keep her balance, but eh, I guess the force of my stare must have pushed her to the stream.

Her friends didn't seem to mind, until I told them that the Rattata's paws were tied. The two panicked while Saur sighed and fished the rat out with a vine. Shock and Vixie scolded the laughing Fay while Saur was trying to pull the collar off of her paws.

Yeah, I am really glad to see them again.

...and I guess it's about time that I told them who I reall am... I should brace myself...

I really enjoy reading your stories but I wish that you would Make them longer or release them more often. I find myself not liking any of the other fan fictions but I do not leave comments because that one guy just deletes them which is ridiculous. Nonetheless I look forward to the next addition!

I really enjoy reading your stories but I wish that you would Make them longer or release them more often. I find myself not liking any of the other fan fictions but I do not leave comments because that one guy just deletes them which is ridiculous. Nonetheless I look forward to the next addition!

Thanks, but I only write chapters when I'm bored at work though, and try to publish them before I go home. :3

Chapter 23

“Where are we going, anyway?” Shock asked for a hundredth time.

I ignored him and his friends as I led them to...somewhere more...private. Almost everywhere I looked, there are Pokémon nearby. If I wanted to tell them my secret, then I needed us to be in a place where it'll only be just the five of us, and no one else.

It was still an hour or two before noon, so, despite the thick sea of leaves up above, I could clearly see where I am going. We turned away from the stream a few minutes ago, and far ahead, I could see a bright clearing.

“Seriously Jay, why are we here?” Shock asked as we exited the forest, and we were immediately greeted by the fresh salty breeze.

Fay wasn't the only Pokémon here though. There were also others who were enjoying a swim or a sunbath. I stopped and looked around, and saw tall boulders on the sandy shore, meters away from us. I was about to start going there, but my tail was painfully held in place.

I gritted my teeth in pain as I turned my head back. The Pikachu was angrily holding my tail.

“We're not making another step to somewhere you're leading us to.”

Vixie and Saur nodded.

I sighed. “I am just trying to find a place where we can talk in private.”

“The place where you woke up was—”

“It had Pidgeys and some bugs around that could hear us,” I cut him off and pulled my tail off of his grip. I turned ahead and pointed at the boulders. “I think that's a good place though.”

“Why is it that you insist of talking without anyone else to hear?” Shock asked, failing to control his temper. “We hear the Pidgeys talk all the time, but we actually don't mind them.”

“Unless of course if they suddenly said something very interesting,” Fay added as soon as her soaked body arrived.

“So...” Saur said slowly. “It'll be an interesting story then?”

I sighed and nodded. “And the sooner, the better...I think...”

“If it's that big of a secret, then you shouldn't tell us,” Vixie frowned. “We have secrets of our own that we're not comfortable of sharing with one another...”

“Yeah,” Fay nodded, “like Saur's life back in that daycare thingy.”

“Look,” I began, “at first, I thought it was best not to tell you guys, but you kept on asking why I do this and why I do that.” I took a breath and sighed. “So, it's time for me to tell you guys why, and the sooner the better.”

Shock brought a paw to his chin, his eyes on the ground, deep in thought. “Hm... Honestly, I'm not good at keeping secrets.” He then looked at me. “When I get angry, I tend to spill everything...”

“Don't we all?” I said.

“Nope,” Saur smiled.

I deadpanned at him. “You're full of secrets. Anyway...” I turned towards the boulders and started walking.

I could tell that they're following me though, so I continued as I ignored and tried not to bump into other Pokémon laying on the sandy ground. A few of them said hello, so I greeted them back with a small smile, and the four who were tailing me greeted them as well.

Soon, the low voices of Pokémon died down as we neared the boulders. I walked around to hide us from the eyes of many Pokémon. Thankfully, there weren't any Pokémon around or near the boulder. I turned and slowly kicked my tail out of the way before I sat down.

“You need to learn to lift your tail there,” Fay said as she and her friends sat down in front of me.

I shrugged. “Meh... Maybe later...” I took a breath to calm myself down. My heart's starting to beat nervously fast though, and I didn't realize that I already took quite a number of calming breaths.

“Better not talk about it then,” Saur commented. They must've noticed my nervousness. No duh...

I closed my eyes and shook my head. “I'm...a human...”

And there, I said it.

...the silence is so f*cking cliché...

“Pffftttahahahah!”

I...guess that's one of the cliché responses though... I curiously opened my eyes and saw Fay laughing her ass off as she fell on her back, still laughing. The other three just...stared at me...with pokerfaces...

“That...um...” Vixie spoke unwillingly. “...explains...the tail?”

Shock shook his head. “You,” he pointed at me with a serious look, “...are...brainwashed.”

“...what?”

“That, or you've really really REALLY hit your head MIGHTY hard when we first found you.”

I sighed. “Look. I'm not brainwashed, nor did I hit my head...I think...but I'm not lying!”

The Pikachu shook his head in annoyance. I guess he doesn't like these kinds of talk. “No. Impossible!” He glared at me. “Do you really expect us to believe that? We're hoping for you to answer why you insist on going to that city, and this is your answer?! Really?!”

...I never said it'll be this easy...but I didn't expect it'd be this hard.

“Prove it.”

...okay, difficulty level increased... I opened my mouth to say something, but no words went out. I'm drawing a blank on what to say. I sighed instead.

“I...didn't expect you guys to believe me anyway...”

“Like hell,” Shock snarled.

“Okay, enough,” I glared at him. “I said my secret, and I swear I am not lying. How in the world do you think I can prove to you guys that I'm telling the truth, huh?!”

Shock glared back for a while before he shook his head and turned his back on me. “Why am I even wasting my time on you, anyway?”

“I'm starting to wonder that myself,” I snarled back.

Sparks flew from the Pikachu as he quickly turned back to me. I felt my heart sunk a million depths when I saw Shock's electrifying glare. “What was that?!”

...I really really hate being electrocuted...

“Shock, stop that!” Vixie called. “You're scaring him!”

“He should be!” Shock shouted, glaring at my shaken form. A vine slapped behind his head. “Ack!” The sparks were gone as he turned and glared at Saur. “What was that for?!”

“For scaring Fay,” Saur calmly said, and I saw Fay was shaken in fear as she hid behind the Bulbasaur.

“F-friends don't hurt friends...” she kept on whispering.

Shock's ears drooped, as well as mine.

“Sorry...” I whispered with a sigh.

The Vulpix sat beside the Rattata and began rubbing her back. “It's alright Fay, it's alright...” she shot a glare at the Pikachu.

“Sorry,” Saud chuckled. “Trying to practice saying only a few words. Doesn't work all the time, it seems...”

“No kidding...” I lamely replied.

“How did you become an Eevee then?”

I shook my head. “No idea. That's why I was trying to find Bill. He's a human inventor, and I know that he created a machine that can turn humans into Pokémon.”

Shock and Saur arched their eyebrows.

I rolled my eyes. “Yes, yes... It's crazy to hear. Just let me finish. Ahem, anyway...” somehow, I remembered that magician that turned Ash into a Pikachu. Eh, whatever. “...his invention didn't work well though, so he was forced to change himself back. And that's why I wanted to see him. He might be able to change me back.”

Saur nodded. “And...this Bill is in Kanto?”

I nodded.

Shock sighed. “I still think your crazy.”

I rolled my eyes. “Thank you. I try.”

“Whatever,” Shock shook his head and turned to his friends. “Let's just return to Bi.”

“Bee?” I asked.

“Who knows,” Shock started walking away, “she might help us snap some sense back into this Eevee.”

“Huh, not a bad idea,” Saur nodded and turned to Fay. “You okay?”

“Yeah,” the Rattata smiled a small smile. “I think so.”

Saur smiled and nodded, and they walked after the Pikachu as I walked and stopped beside the Vulpix.

“Who's Bee?” I asked her.

“Huh?” she blinked and turned to me. “Oh, right... you never met her before.” She gestured with her head to follow the others, and we then started walking. “Bi is Celebi.”

Oh... Oh. Oh! “S-seriously?!” B-but I thought... You know what? Never mind. Those papers were probably dated back a few weeks ago. “Celebi's back?” I asked.

She frowned. “Not for long though... She just came back to check up on us.”

I discovered that the beach where I confessed my secret was west from Goldenrod City. I learned this after I quietly followed Shock and the others, who were heading east.

We went around the city though, careful not to be seen while we were running through an open route.

We spent two days walking, eating, talking and resting before we reached the bottom of the cliff. We were thankful that it was a clear afternoon while we were climbing up the cliff. If it was a windy or stormy afternoon, then it'd be a totally different story.

I was so tired by the time we reached the top, and so were the others, so we decided to camp for the night, since the sun was also about to set.

We sat in a circle, lying on our bellies. We rested as we tried to catch our breaths before one or two of us would collect something to eat, like, berries.

During our little dinner, we talked for a few about random things. Almost all of those random things were questions about me and my previous life as a human. Shock was still doubtful though, but our anger towards each other has faded long ago, and we occasionally talk and smile at each other, which was good.

I was the first to wake up when a cold drop of water hit my nose. At first, I thought it was going to rain, but when I looked up, the sleepy dark-blue morning sky was clear. I then heard faint giggling noises from the bushes. A quick look and I saw an Azurill playfully squirting water at the fleeing Sentret. They didn't notice me as they chased each other deeper into the forest.

After everyone woke up, we took a quick breakfast, berries once again, before we continued on our way back to Celebi's pond. It's the third day since we started going back to Ilex Forest, and I started to wonder if Celebi was still there. Vixie and the others did say that Celebi only came back to check up on things and then would be gone for who knows how long.

Then again, none of the four were showing signs of concern that Celebi might be long gone before we even arrive at the place. So I guess that's a good sign that Celebi will still be there. Either that, or it never occurred to them that it's been three days now, and the chances of Celebi still being there is close to zero percent...

“—so what do you think, Jay?” I snapped back to reality after Fay turned her head over her shoulder to look at me. I was still tailing their little group from behind though.

“Er...sure, I guess?” I hope that was the right answer...

The others turned to me with arched eyebrows. Eh, nope... Not the right answer...

“Me being born as a Pikachu has something to do with me not devolving into a Pichu, and you answered with ‘sure, I guess’?” Shock frowned.

...I haven't really thought about it until now. Shock's an evolved form! So...

“...shouldn't you be a Pichu?” I asked.

He frowned. “That's what the others kept on asking me back in the pond. So, welcome to their club.”

I rolled my eyes. “Seriously though... Why aren't you a Pichu? Then again... I can't imagine a tough and hot-headed guy like you being a Pichu.”

Shock glared at me as the others chuckled. “Ha ha... Funny.” He shook his head and looked ahead. “Anyway, as I've said, I was born as a Pikachu, and so were my siblings back home... I'm from a clan of Pikachus in the Kanto region.”

Eh? “Viridian Forest?”

“That's what the humans call that forest, and I really hate that name,” the Pikachu said. “But us Pokémon call it Green Forest. Because the forest's leaves were a lot greener than any other forest. Even this one.”

“I...think viridian means blue-green... I think...”

Shock shook his head. “Whatever. It's Green Forest, and since you're a Pokémon, and clearly not a human, you should call it Green Forest and not Vivi-whatever.”

I frowned and was about to complain, but Vixie shot me an amused look and shook her head. I rolled my eyes and sighed. “Fine. Green Forest it is. At least it's easier to say...”

“So...” Fay asked. “What do you think? Why isn't Shock a Pichu?”

Erm...yes... That question... I almost forgot. Hm... “Well... The phenomenon made all Pokémon to return to their basic forms, and couldn't evolve. At least, that's what I found out while I was in the city. Buuut... Shock's still a Pikachu. So... I think that...uhm... He's a lucky one to escape the weird ‘return to basic’ black magic thingy, or because it's in his DNA or genes that his basic form is a Pikachu, and why the heck are you two laughing?!”

I frowned at Fay and Vixie, who were laughing at my answer slash explanation.

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